MUZAFFARABAD (Kashmir English): The Azad Jammu and Kashmir Press Foundation recently held its second Scrutiny and Category Committee meeting under the chairmanship of committee chairman Sardar Ijaz Khaliq Khan.
During the meeting, the committee reviewed the implementation of previous decisions and directed that reminder letters be sent to institutions that had not responded.
The committee decided to seek station-wise details of representatives from all news organizations to record the presence and services of journalists at the local level effectively.
The members also emphasized designing a comprehensive form for Press Foundation members to record personal, professional, and dependent details for effective welfare facilities. They discussed the provision of pension facilities to working journalists in Azad Kashmir under the EOBI, similar to Pakistan
The committee recommended including all registered newspapers and news agencies published in Azad Kashmir in the pension scheme to provide financial security to senior journalists after retirement.
The committee chairman, Sardar Ijaz Khaliq Khan, thanked Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq for increasing the annual grant of the Press Foundation by 100% and appreciated the district administration of Sudhanoti for allocating land for the Press Foundation.
He praised Azad Kashmir journalists for their historic role in the Kashmir Freedom Movement and their professional skills despite limited resources.
The Chairman Committee paid tribute to the bravery of Azad Kashmir journalists and the Pakistani armed forces’ recent military victory in Indo-Pak tensions. He emphasized the need for journalism to become a spokesperson and a defensive front of the national narrative.
The meeting was attended by Vice Chairman Press Foundation Sardar Zulfiqar Ali, Muhammad Shabbir Awan, Syed Abbas Gardezi, Tahir Masood, and Mirza Aslam, who participated via video link.
