Staff Correspondent:

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has said that BNP will prioritize media sector reforms if it is voted to power in the next national elections.

He made the remarks while speaking at a seminar titled “Review of the Media Reform Report” organized by the Broadcast Journalist Center (BJC) at the China Friendship Conference Center.

Fakhrul emphasized the party’s commitment to ensuring a free and independent media.

“Our promise is very clear. In our 31-point outline, we explicitly stated that we want to build an independent media environment. That is why we pledged to form a commission,” he said.

The commission has already been formed and has prepared its report. He, however, expressed disappointment that the report has not been discussed further.

“We hope that if we are entrusted with forming the government through people’s votes, we will undoubtedly prioritize this issue,” he said.

Fakhrul noted that whenever BNP has governed the country, it has taken measures to strengthen and modernize the media sector.

He credited the BNP-led government for initiating several time-appropriate developments in the television industry.

Addressing journalists, he said, “You have many unions-BFUJ, DRU and even factions aligned with different political parties. Journalists themselves are becoming divided. Political parties want to keep you in their pockets. If you let that happen, it becomes a problem.”

Fakhrul said the media has nurtured fascism for the past 15 years. Journalists must now recommit themselves to independent journalism, he opined.