State Minister for Social Welfare Farzana Sharmin Putul has said the government values press freedom and welcomes constructive criticism from journalists.
Speaking at an exchange of views with journalists at Pabna Press Club on Monday, the state minister said newspapers and media play a vital role as the mirror of society and the fourth pillar of the state.
“Through constructive criticism, journalists can point out our mistakes and help the government run its activities more effectively,” she said.
The meeting was chaired by Press Club President Akhtaruzzaman Akhtar. Among those present were Shamsur Rahman Shimul Biswas, Member of Parliament from Pabna-5 (Sadar), and AKM Selim Reza Habib, MP from Pabna-2.
Others attending the event included Baby Islam, President of the Pabna Diabetic Association and a freedom fighter; former Press Club presidents Rabiul Islam Robi and Shibjit Nag; educationist Mahatab Uddin Biswas; Press Club General Secretary Zahurul Islam; and District Bar Association President Masud Khondakar, among others.
The discussion was moderated by the club’s literary and cultural editor Yad Ali Mridha Pavel.
During the event, the state minister became emotional when four childhood friends of her late father, former Social Welfare Minister Fazlur Rahman Patol, attended the meeting. She honoured them with floral tributes that she had received from the Press Club. In return, her father’s friends offered blessings to the minister.
Established in 1961, the Pabna Press Club has played an important role in many democratic movements in Bangladesh. The late minister Fazlur Rahman Patol spent much of his life in Pabna and was closely connected with the press club.
