THE task of highlighting and projecting policies and programmes of the government in power in right perspective and in a persuasive manner is daunting one given the peculiar political milieu of the country but one must give due credit to Senator Shibli Faraz, the Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, for making a mark in the discharge of his onerous responsibilities.
It was mainly because of his deft handling of the affairs of the Ministry and tactful defence of the Government on different issues in his capacity as chief spokesperson that he has earned confidence and trust of Prime Minister Imran Khan and this was also reflected in his decision to award party ticket to Shibli Faraz for the forthcoming Senate elections.
Shibli Faraz is widely acclaimed for his honesty, soft-spoken approach and argumentative communication skills, qualities that have contributed a lot to his successful delivery as per expectations of the Government where others miserably failed.
Majority of people fully agree that he moved significantly towards realization of the all goalposts that the leadership set for the top media manager of the country – reforms and improvement in the working of the Information Ministry and its attached departments, media-friendly posture, close liaison with electronic and print media and, above all, portraying positive image of the Government through realistic projection of its different initiatives and plans.
It was because of the hard work done by the Minister and his team that not only performance of the Ministry and its attached organizations has visibly improved but people-friendly policies and actions of the government are also getting due place in print and electronic media.
Under his dynamic leadership, the Ministry was able to project effectively the strategy adopted by the Government to handle the situation arising out of Covid-19, relief to the poor, different initiatives under Ehsaas Programme, relief packages announced for various sectors, PM’s portal and employment generation policies.
Before assumption of office by Shibli Faraz, there was discontentment among officials of various organizations working under the Ministry of Information but he was able to earn their trust as well without compromising on aims and objectives that the Government had set for them.
The Minister, from the day one, expressed resolve to pay greater attention to resolution of the problems faced by media industry and workers and has lived up to his commitment by engaging all stakeholders to sort out issues like clearance of outstanding dues, relief package for newspaper industry, promotion of regional press and regional language publications, immediate payment of refund of withholding tax by FBR and enhancement of government advertisement rates.
The achievements of the Ministry can legitimately be termed as a model for other ministries and divisions to emulate.
