Islamabad : The ceremony for the digitization of membership and the formal launch of the biometric system at the National Press Club, Islamabad, was held at NPC. The ceremony was presided over by Secretary NPC Dr. Furqan Rao. The ceremony was attended by National Press Club President Abdul Razak Sial, Secretary Dr. Furqan Rao, PFUJ President Afzal Butt, former presidents Haji Nawaz Raza, Shakeel Qarar, Farooq Faisal, General Secretary PFUJ Shakeel Ahmed, President RIUJ Tariq Usmani, Jago Group Head Matiullah Jan, Bedar Group Chairperson Dr. Sadia Kamal, officials of various journalistic organizations, senior journalists and club members.
On this occasion, the speakers termed the biometric membership system as an important and revolutionary step in the history of the National Press Club and said that it would make the membership record completely transparent and would effectively eliminate objections raised on future elections.
President National Press Club, Abdul Razaq Sial, while addressing the gathering, said that according to the requirements of the modern era, the membership of the Press Club is being brought under a digital and biometric system so that an authentic and complete record of each member is preserved. The purpose of the biometric system is not only to verify the members but also to transform the National Press Club into a functional and modern institution. According to him, the professional information and skills of about 3,500 members of the Press Club will be brought to an integrated digital platform, where domestic and foreign organizations will be able to directly contact journalists and content creators. Abdul Razak Sial announced that a new website of the National Press Club will also be launched in the next few weeks, on which members’ profiles, professional information and other relevant records will be available.
Secretary NPC Dr. Furqan Rao said that this initiative will give journalists access to new professional opportunities at the national and international levels, the journalistic leadership will rise above their political and group differences and work together to solve the common problems of journalists. He clarified that unemployed journalists will continue to be members of the Press Club and their membership will not be affected. Afzal Butt emphasized the need to respect the discipline and institutional decisions of the Press Club on this occasion and said that the issues of the Press Club should be resolved within the institution instead of taking them to social media. All groups and organizations should work together for the welfare of journalists and to resolve their professional issues. He announced full support for the biometric system and said that every positive step in the interest of the journalistic community would be supported.
Senior journalist Iftikhar Shirazi welcomed the biometric system and said that the responsibility of journalists is not limited to identifying facts only, but it is also their responsibility to protect the reputation and dignity of their institutions. RIUJ President Tariq Usmani welcomed the biometric of journalists and said that it will increase the respect and dignity of the organization. Former President NPC Farooq Faisal Khan said that objections to the NPC list are an obstacle in achieving Media Town Phase II. This obstacle will also be removed by making the member list biometric. Former President Haji Nawaz Raza said that this step is an important step towards fulfilling election promises as well as building the organization on modern lines. Having the biometric of members will increase the good name of the organization. Former President NPC Shakeel Qarar said that it is hoped that this step will erase the stigma of being fake from journalists and they will get their legitimate rights.
PFUJ General Secretary Shakeel Ahmed said that with the biometric of the member list, only real journalists will be able to become members of the Press Club and only they will get the rights of real journalists. No non-journalist will be able to snatch their rights. Journalist Matiullah Jan said that the journalist community has been demanding transparent membership for a long time. The list was being demanded and the biometric system is the fulfillment of this long-standing desire. According to him, authentic digital records will be helpful in ensuring fair distribution of rights, welfare funds and other facilities of journalists.
The ceremony was also addressed by RIUJ Secretary General Raja Bashir Usmani, Finance Secretary Abid Abbasi, APNIC Chairman Muhammad Siddique Anzar and others. The ceremony also discussed issues related to federal housing quota, Media Town Phase II, welfare of unemployed journalists, residential projects for journalists and development of the press club. At the end of the ceremony, President National Press Club Abdul Razak Sial formally inaugurated the biometric membership system, after which PFUJ President Afzal Butt, former presidents and other journalist leaders completed their biometric registration. According to the Press Club administration, the digital registration form will be available for all members from Monday.