Tarar lauds international organizations’ support to strengthen electoral process in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD,  :Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar said on Wednesday that the cooperation of international organizations to strengthen the electoral process in Pakistan was commendable.            During a meeting with the United Nations Electoral Needs Assessment  Mission, the minister appreciated the services rendered by the  mission for the transparency of electoral process in Pakistan.             In the meeting, provision of technical support to Election Commission of Pakistan through UNDP Election Support Programme, fake news, misinformation, disinformation and other important issues were discussed.            “Election campaigns in Pakistan have changed in the digital age,”  the minister said adding the rise of social media had given a new shape to political engagement.            In the present digital era, where the way for digital-based strategies was being paved, there were also challenges of fake news, misinformation and disinformation.            “Fake news, misinformation and disinformation are the problem of the whole world,”  he maintained.             The minister informed the members of the UN mission that Election Commission of Pakistan was working on the digital front as per the requirements of the present era. He said it was very important to provide awareness to the voters about the election process.            Briefing the UN mission about his constituency in Lahore, he said  his constituency  comprised more than 70,000 voters from the Christian community.            Tarar said he had mobilized every person in his constituency and provided them with awareness about every sector.            The United Nations Electoral Needs Assessment Mission praised the Government of Pakistan’s steps to improve the credibility of the electoral process in the country.            The delegation included Political Affairs Officers Haissam Minkara, Aditya Adhikari, UNDP Regional Advisor Najia Hashemee, Chief Technical Advisor UNDP SELP  Mary Cummins, Program Advisor  UNDP SELP Muhammad Qasim Janjua.