PM Shehbaz Sharif issues directive to combat “propaganda against martyrs”

ISLAMABAD (APP): Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday directed the formulation of a comprehensive strategy to counter the “malicious propaganda against martyrs”, terming it an “attack not on the government, but State”.

According to a statement, the directive was given at a meeting of the government spokespersons held in Islamabad, where the state and national narrative on defence and public interests were discussed.

The meeting strongly “condemned the negative campaign run by a political party against the martyrs” and agreed to address it through a strong response.

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The prime minister regretted that the dignity of the martyrs of the country and the sentiments of their feelings was not being respected, terming it “highly condemnable and intolerable”.

The meeting held a detailed review of the overall situation related to important topics covered by media and discussed the stance of the government and the party.

It was agreed that an effective, comprehensive and timely response would be given on all media platforms including social media, for which various proposals came under consideration.

Sharif directed that spokespersons should be appointed from the centre and the four provinces under the guidance of senior leaders to represent the narrative of party and the government.

The prime minister directed to give responsibilities to those in the party and the parliament who could effectively present the point of view at the media platforms.

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He stressed coordination among the government ministers, party leaders and members of parliament at the federal and provincial levels.

The meeting decided to create a centralised mechanism for television programmes, besides developing procedures to identify themes, create narratives, immediate check of fake news and propaganda.

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar, former Federal Minister for Information and Senior Minister of Punjab Marriyum Aurangzeb and other leaders participated in the meeting.