PESHAWAR: NWFP okays journalists' welfare foundation
By Bureau Report
PESHAWAR, June 16: The NWFP government has finally approved the establishment of Sarhad Journalists Welfare Foundation and provided Rs6 million as seed money to generate more funds for the welfare of the journalist community.
Giving details about the decision, Minister for Information Asif Iqbal Daudzai said it had been an old demand of journalists to have a welfare foundation which could help their needy and elderly colleagues.
The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal government, he said, was committed to protecting economic rights and defending the freedom of press, he added. Speaking at a meeting of the Media Committee at the Media Centre here on Wednesday, Mr Daudzai said that the MMA had not only endorsed the demands of newsmen, but tried to materialize them on priority basis.
"We consider them as defender of the fourth estate and democratic values in the country", he added. Mr Daudzai also constituted a six-member sub-committee, headed by the director of Public Relations, to prepare an outline for the SJWF, its structure and board of governors and submit a report to the committee by July 15.
Presidents and general secretaries of the Khyber Union of Journalists and Peshawar Press Club would be members of the sub-committee and Mr Fareedullah of information department would be its secretary.
Mr Daudzai said that he would submit the report to the provincial cabinet, which would approve it for early implementation. He said the government had taken up demands of working journalists at all forums and tried to solve them.
The government had constituted a media committee for the 7th wage award in the local newspapers, set up an endowment fund for newsmen, sanctioned a grant of Rs1 million for the Peshawar Press Club and now established the SJWF, he added.
The media committee had also approved Rs25,000 for the ailing and needy journalists out of the special welfare funds, established by the NWFP Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani.
NWFP information secretary Col (rtd) Ghulam Hussain, additional secretary Afzal Khan, DPR Abdul Baqi, presidents of the Khyber Union of Journalists and Peshawar Press Club also attended the meeting.
