PESHAWAR, July 13: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Mohammad Ali Durrani has said the government holds the press in high esteem and will never take any step undermining freedom of the press.

Mr Durrani visited the Peshawar Press Club on Wednesday along with Federal Minister for Political Affairs Amir Muqam.

Earlier, he discussed with a delegation of the press club, led by its president Syed Bukhar Shah, the misunderstanding between local office-bearers of the PML and journalists which developed following an attack on the press club.

Mr Durrani clarified that the PML was not involved in the attack on the press club.

“We will neither encourage such an act nor will tolerate it,” he told journalists.

However, he said, such incidents did have negative impacts.

“I’m here to remove the misunderstanding because the government attaches great importance to journalists,” he added.

He said politics and journalism were inter-related and added that the government wanted to promote politics based on the freedom of the press.

Mr Durrani maintained that the government said the government appreciated positive criticism and tried to learn from it.

He said Federal Minister Amir Muqam, president of the NWFP PML, was not involved in any act against the press club.

About the Multan crash, he said some elements were trying to exploit the incident for their political interests.—APP