July 9, 2003	Wednesday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 8,1424

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ISLAMABAD, July 8: Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali has expressed the desire to improve working conditions of all the workers, including journalists, and promised that his government will fulfil its responsibilities in this regard.

The prime minister conveyed this message through his press secretary Rai Mohammad Riaz to a group of journalists who have set up a camp in front of the Supreme Court building to protest against the non-implementation of the 7th Wage Award for newspaper journalists and workers, and delay in the disposal of petition filed by the owners of the newspapers in the apex court.

The prime minister took notice of the protest by the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) and the All-Pakistan Newspapers Employ-ees Confederation (Apnec) when he twice passed the protest camp set up on the Constitution Avenue.

Rai Riaz told the PFUJ and Apnec members present in the protest camp that the prime minister was aware of the issue, and had promised the government’s help to resolve the matter.

Meanwhile, parliamentarians and leaders from different political parties kept visiting the protest camp throughout the day to show solidarity with the journalists.

Prominent politicians who visited the camp were Raja Pervez Ashraf, Dr Safdar Abbasi, and Nahid Khan of the PPP, Farid Ahmed Paracha of the JI, and Syed Haider Abbas Rizvi of the MQM.