ISLAMABAD, Dec 30: Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) will soon invite applications from the private sector for another 13 channels, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said.

“We have already given licences to seven organizations, mainly from print media, and 13 more are in the pipeline, which soon will be advertised,” he announced while speaking at the inaugural ceremony of Independent News Pakistan, a news agency, here on Tuesday.

Besides, the government has decided to establish Direct-to-Home (DHT) facility in Pakistan. The objective of this facility is to introduce TV channels to meet the viewers needs in consonance with social norms and religious values.

Likewise, the PTV will soon start its channel five and six naming AJK and Entertainment channels respectively.

He said, after the 9/11, media’s role had become very important at national and international level.

“Some of the countries in the west are allocating resources to the media development next to their defence expenditures for the better projection of their national interests”, he said.

Referring to the negative reporting about Islam and Pakistan in the recent past, he said, “it was only due to the powerful media of the west which we couldn’t counter and remained at the receiving end due to our week standing in this field.”

“We are being projected as extremists all over the world through electronic as well as print media despite our active participation in the ongoing war against terrorism”, he said.

Right now, wars are being fought at media levels, be it about cultural invasions, marketing of local productions or active borders.