Pakistan hails Azerbaijan for D-8 event, urges joint media strategy

WEB DESK: Federal Information Minister Atta Tarar on Friday congratulated the government of Azerbaijan for successfully hosting the latest D-8 media event, saying the platform had gained significant momentum under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev.

In a keynote address, Tarar said the global information environment was undergoing rapid transformation, with digital media now serving as the fastest and most influential mode of communication. While acknowledging the opportunities offered by new technologies, he warned that propaganda and misinformation were fuelling misleading narratives worldwide.

Tarar stressed that preparing young people to use social media responsibly was now essential. “Pakistan has 117 million internet users and over 80 million active social media users,” he noted, adding that nearly 68 per cent of the population was under the age of 30. This demographic advantage, he said, made it vital to bridge the gap between “digital immigrants” and the modern digital information ecosystem.

Citing the recent spike in tensions with India, the minister said Pakistani youth had played a vital role on the information front during the crisis. “Timely and accurate information is crucial to shaping the national narrative,” he said, adding that the government had prioritised transparent and responsible communication.

Tarar warned that misinformation distorted public opinion and underscored the need to strengthen fact-checking, anticipatory communication and media literacy. Training journalists for responsible crisis reporting, he added, was indispensable.

Calling for stronger cooperation among D-8 member states, Tarar said sharing positive stories from the bloc with the rest of the world was a shared responsibility. He welcomed the establishment of the Media Excellence Centre in Azerbaijan and expressed hope that partnerships among member countries would open new avenues for collaboration in the media sector.

He said a joint strategy among D-8 nations was now a pressing requirement to counter global information challenges and promote credible, constructive communication.