QUETTA, July 6: The entire world was putting diplomatic pressure on India to pull out its troops from borders and initiate dialogue with Pakistan for resolving all issues, including Kashmir.

Federal Minister for Information and Media Development, Mr Nisar A Memon, said this while speaking at a ceremony held to mark the inauguration of FM-101’s transmission in Quetta on Saturday.

He said that after the Almatay summit, the situation had changed in the region as the world appreciated the stance of Pakistan on Kashmir and other issues. Pakistan succeeded in convincing the world that Islamabad never supported terrorism and was itself a victim of this menace.

He said Pakistan had no aggressive designs against any country but, at the same time, wanted to make it clear that it was capable of responding befittingly to any adventurism.

He said Pakistan was protecting its frontiers for the last seven months as India has deployed its troops along the Line of Control and the international border.

Referring to the internal problems, the federal information minister said the law and order in Balochistan had remained disturbed as firing of rockets was the order of the day. “But,” he added, “the situation has been changed and people involved in such activities have been arrested.”

Overall, he said, the law and order situation had improved in the country and in Karachi the terrorist gangs had also been either arrested or killed in encounters with the law enforcement agencies.

Speaking about the development of electronic media, the minister said it was an era characterized by media’s dominance and no-one could ignore its importance.

He said the government was taking all steps to spread the voice of radio far and wide.

Introducing FM-101 in the public sector was aimed at creating more listeners. The Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation had succeeded in its plans as Quetta was the fifth station where its regular transmission had been launched, he said.

The National Economic Council (NEC) has approved funds for the installation of 100-kilowatt transmitter at Turbat to spread its voice across the border, he said, adding work on the project had already been launched.

The government is introducing modern and latest technology in the field of electronic media. The private sector should come forward to make investment in this earning sector, he said.

The government has proved, through successful running of FM-101 transmission from five cities, that the private sector can earn handsome money by investing in it, he added.

The government has established Pemra to regulate the affairs of electronic media, both in the public and private sectors, he said, adding that the private sector will be encouraged if it applied for establishing TV and radio stations.

He said the people of Balochistan would be welcome if they were interested in this field.

He said the government was giving equal priority to national and regional languages besides starting transmissions for neighbouring countries.

Earlier, Secretary Information and Media Development Syed Anwar Mehmood highlighted the importance of FM transmission, saying the new channel “has been introduced to further popularize and promote radio listening among the people.