Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb has strongly condemned the incident of violence against a 14-year-old domestic worker Rizwana and demanded swift justice in the case.
The minister, in a news statement on Sunday, called the incident “shameful” and “condemnable.”
She emphasised that no society could tolerate such oppressive elements, especially when it involved child labor and the brutal treatment to young individuals like Rizwana.
Marriyum said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had directed Caretaker Chief Minister of Punjab Syed Mohsin Naqvi to take serious notice of the matter and ensure swift action to bring the perpetrators to justice. The government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, was committed to play its due role in ensuring that the accused were punished according to the law, she added.
She regretted that the courts were granting bails to the culprits instead of delivering justice to the innocent victim, Rizwana.
The minister stressed that delivering justice to Rizwana was a litmus test for the judiciary’s reputation. She pledged all-out efforts to ensure that the oppressed daughter, Rizwana, received the justice she rightfully deserved. The nation, she urged, should unite in prayers for her early recovery.
Meanwhile, Marriyum Aurangzeb reiterated the government’s commitment to upgrade Pakistan Television (PTV) and Radio Pakistan which were indispensable to promoting national heritage and narrative at the global level.
“The national broadcasting institutions are more than just structures as they hold a paramount position in representing the country’s identity to the entire world,” the minister said while talking to media men after laying the foundation of 1000 KW Digital DRM Medium Wave Transmitter Project at Radio Pakistan, Rawat.
Marriyum regretted that the previous regime of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was bent upon auctioning the national institutions including Radio Pakistan and others.
Highlighting the pivotal role of these national broadcasters, she stressed that the government was determined to leverage PTV and Radio Pakistan to enhance Pakistan’s global presence and counter negative narratives about the country. At the outset of the media talk, the minister said Radio Pakistan accomplished a milestone today as the first time in history a Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) technology had been launched.
She said Radio Pakistan was based on analogue and short-wave technology since 1947 and most of its transmitters had already completed their life.
The broadcaster was in dire need of DRM as analogue and short-wave technologies became obsolete a long ago, she added. Marriyum said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed Finance Minister Ishaq Dar to release funds for transforming Radio Pakistan on modern lines.
