PESHAWAR: Journalists Welfare, Safety and Development Foundation on Thursday launched a capacity-building programme for journalists of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

Provincial secretary information Qaiser Alam Khan was chief guest at the launching ceremony held here. The foundation’s patron-in-chief Syed Bukhar Shah, capacity-building head Nisar Mehmood and chairman Ali Hazrat Bacha shared their views about its objectives.

Director general public relations Amir Hussain Shah and representatives of various press clubs were also present at the ceremony.

Commenting on the initiative, Qaiser Alam said that the skill development plan was a commendable step to ensure protection to the working journalists. He advised the mediapersons to perform their duties with a sense of responsibility and objectivity to avoid problems and damage to anyone in the society.

He suggested initiating a joint venture by the information department, academia and the foundation to build the capacity of budding journalists for promoting clarity, fairness and ethics in journalism.

The official said that mediapersons were supposed to highlight public issues for prompt solution by the authorities concerned. He emphasised that the journalists should ensure their safety and security first while discharging their duties. He said the working journalists were faced with a host of challenges which would be addressed with proper patronage of the government and welfare bodies.

He said that the provincial information department and journalism department of the University of Peshawar, in collaboration with the foundation would soon launch a comprehensive training programme for working journalists.

Earlier, Nisar Mehmood talked about significance of proper training to build professional skills of journalists. Bukhar Shah stressed the need for increase in wages and provision of health facilities to mediapersons.

The foundation’s chief said that they had also planned to launch vocational training and self-employment programmes for the widows and orphan children of martyred journalists. He sought assistance of the government for its plans.

Published in Dawn, November 17th, 2017