ISLAMABAD: President Dr. Arif Alvi on Monday said that his office would continue to play its constitutional role for social change in the country.

The President expressed his strong resolve to continue his efforts to create awareness on the most vital social issues such as malnutrition, infant mortality, population growth, and women’s right to inheritance and he has taken all concerned stakeholders on board in this regard, he added.

The President said this while talking to a delegation of CPNE Standing Committee who called on him at Aiwan-i-Sadr.

Special Assistant to the PM on Information and Broadcasting Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan was also present on the occasion.

The President stated that media had a very important role to play in bringing about social change in any society.

Appreciating the role of the media in general and print media in particular, he warned that all the media stakeholders should be extra careful while confronting with the challenges of fake news, which, he added, was an old phenomenon, but could have disastrous consequences.

He further said that in recent years, the fake news milling had gained momentum and blurred the accuracy of news space.

The President said that unless a nation was equipped with modern concepts and technologies, including the emerging concept of artificial intelligence,  dream of becoming a progressive and developed country would remain a far dream. He thanked CPNE for their support for his initiative on artificial intelligence which, he added had gained a big success in Karachi and now had been recently launched in Islamabad and Faisalabad.

The President said that Pakistan would support peace process in Afghanistan and actively contribute for its rebuilding.

The President said that unless a nation was equipped with modern econcepts and technologies including the emerging concept of artificial intelligence, dream of becoming a progressive and developed country would not be fulfilled.

Earlier SAPM on Information and Broadcasting Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan said that the guidance and the patronage of the President Dr. Arif Alvi has always been very encouraging for the development of media in Pakistan.

She also assured the media community of support from the Government for responsible journalism in the country.

President CPNE, Arif Nizami, expressed the gratitude of media community to President Dr. Arif Alvi for his constant support to the media community in the country.

He further said that it was the responsibility of the media community to fact-check news for accuracy before disseminating it to curb the trend of fake news. —APP