Afghanistan Times
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By Akhtar M.Nikzad-KABUL: The Minister of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) commended newsmen on Sunday for their healthy reporting regarding corruption.
Speaking at the ceremony, the Minister of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, Nasir Ahmad Durrani, termed media as the forth pillar of the state and said that media can play an effective role in fight against corruption and brining reforms in government organizations.
He added that media put pressure on government officials to perform their duties honestly. Durrani said that the MRRD is committed to brief media on its performances.
“The MRRD wants to establish an information center for media in order to provide reporters easy access to information. We also want to make a gymnasium for reporters inside the ministry,” he added.
The chief executive officer (CEO) Nai-Supporting Open Media in Afghanistan, Mujib Khilwatgar, said that unfortunately the government could not utilize the potential of media in the past 14 years.
He added that reporters face reaction from mafia groups in the government, when they report about corruption in state departments. “As many as 50 reporters have been killed and around 500 cases of violence against reporters have been registered so far,” he said.
He termed lack of access to information and facing threats from powerful people as main challenges faced by media-men. He urged Durrani to discuss the challenges faced by reporters in the Council of Ministers (CoM).
Editor-in-Chief of Pajhwok Afghan News (PAN), Danish Karokhel, said that media play an important role in fight against corruption.
It is worth mentioning that Akhtar Mohammad Nikzad, a reporter of Daily Afghanistan Times, was also among those reporters who earned appreciation from the MRRD.
