Sindh Information Department

Department of the government in Sindh, Pakistan

The Sindh Information Department is a good department of the government of the province of Sindh in southern Pakistan.

The main functions of the Sindh Information Department are to provide better and purposeful coverage to the activities of government, through both electronic and print media, for which purpose the department coordinates with the media and journalists. It communicates daily with the Governor, the Chief Secretary's administrative department/s, and other government functionaries, regarding relevant press coverage. Weekly reports of television coverage of Sindh are also made.

The monthly publications of the Information Department, namely "Izhar" (Urdu) and "Paigham" (Sindhi), which ceased in 1993, have been re published since May, 1999. Efforts are underway to market them through the usual trading outlets.

This section has also been fully reorganised. It now keeps government and semi government departments informed of the miseries and hardships of people who make their wishes known to the relevant authorities through the print media. In keeping with this policy, press clippings regarding public demands and complaints, law and order, political statements (positive or negative), editorials, articles and news items of public interest are submitted to the chief executive of the province. Press clippings of different nature are also sent to the media advisor and the chief secretary. Besides the above, press clippings pertaining to various Nation Building Departments, are sent daily to the heads of administrative departments for their attention. The rebuttals and clarifications received from the concerned departments are also sent to the print media for publicising the government's point of view.

This section processes advertisements placed in newspapers by various Sindh Government departments. A revised advertising policy was approved in 2000 by the provincial cabinet of Sindh. This policy is aimed at economising on space and cutting down expenditure drastically. Several daily newspapers for which the Information Department processes government advertising, as well as those on the central media list approved by the federal government and certified by ABC, have been shortlisted in consultation with ISPR and APNS to contain releases of advertisements to dummy newspapers. A review committee, headed by the Deputy Director, ISPR, 5 Corps Headquarters, Karachi, has also been constituted to undertake periodical reviews of newspapers for the release of government advertisements. The Information Department owes some Rs.134.22 million for advertising, unpaid due to lack of funding. In order to settle the outstanding dues, the Finance Department has so far provided a sum of Rs.60 million, out of which about Rs.20 million has been disbursed, while the remaining amount is being drawn from the audit. The disbursement of payment is processed and approved by the committee headed by the Deputy Director, ISPR, 5 Corps Headquarters, Karachi, and represented by the Finance Department by the Deputy Secretary.

This section of the Sindh Information Department provides professional training and financial support to journalists as well as certifying the journalists at the provincial level. It also issues accreditation cards to journalists.

The Administration Section has been reactivated. There are daily meetings to discuss actions on a day to day basis of important matters, with weekly follow up meetings to review the disposal of government business and its implementation status.

The divisional and district offices perform the same functions at the divisional or district level with which constant coordination is maintained to monitor activity.

The Sindh Information Department has strong and close relations with print media, as well as enhancing electronic media of the country in manipulating public opinion. The film section of the department is working closely with electronic media. It can help in educating the masses. The mobile film unit of the department held film shows at various places in the interior of Sindh. These shows were evoked interest in a large number of people.

The Sindh Information Department provides more films and news to PTV because it a national television channel, but the trend is rapidly changing with the emergence of private television channels. The Department is enjoying influential relations with the national television broadcaster (PTV).

The Sindh Information Department provides news to Pakistan radio in the same way it does for television insofar as it provides comparatively more news for Pakistan national radio than it does for private FM radio stations.