ISLAMABAD: The federal government has appointed Ashfaq Ahmed Khalil, Additional Secretary at the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and a grade-21 officer of the Information Group, as the new Federal Secretary for Information and Broadcasting.
Following the approval of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, the Establishment Division has issued the formal notification confirming his appointment. According to the notification, Khalil has been appointed Secretary Information and Broadcasting on deputation under Section 10 of the Civil Servants Act, 1973, with immediate effect and until further orders. Prior to this, he had been serving as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Over the course of his career, he has held several important responsibilities in the Ministry of Information.
He has also served as Director General at the Press Information Department (PID) Peshawar, as well as Press Counsellor at the Pakistan Embassy in Tokyo, Japan. In addition, he has held key positions in the Directorate of Electronic Media and Publications, Pemra, Information Service Academy and Press Information Department.
The post of became vacant following the retirement of Ambreen Jan on October 22. The All Pakistan Newspaper Society (APNS) has welcomed and congratulated Ashfaq Ahmad Khalil on his appointment.
The office-bearers of the All Pakistan Newspaper Society expressed the hope that during his tenure, Ashfaq Ahmad Khalil would protect and safeguard press freedom and work to address the challenges facing the print media. They said that they were confident the print media would continue to enjoy the same cordial relationship with the ministry and the government as it did during the tenure of the outgoing secretary.
The APNS office-bearers hoped that issues affecting the print media which remain pending will now be resolved. These include the implementation of the already approved increase in government advertising rates, an enhancement in the volume of government advertisements, and the clearance of long-outstanding dues so that the print media can effectively cope with the prevailing liquidity crunch.
