A 22-member-strong delegation of Mumbai Press Club will leave for Pakistan today (Monday), November 14, which coincides with the birth anniversary of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India. They will visit Karachi and Hyderabad.
This is for the first time from Mumbai and perhaps India that an all-media delegation is visiting Karachi and Hyderabad. The team will return to India on November 21.
Mumbai and Karachi are financial capitals of India and Pakistan, respectively, developed along the sea.
“The visit is extremely significant as it is the first of its kind. This also marks a series of bilateral visits between journalists of the two cities, Mumbai and Karachi in particular and India and Pakistan in general. Very soon we would play host to a delegation from the Karachi Press Club,” Press Club,” Mumbai Press Club’s President Gurbir Singh said in a press release.
The delegation is being led by Chairman Mumbai Press Club Prakash Akolkar, the Political Editor of the Sakal Group. Veteran journalist Jatin Desai, who had been to Pakistan several times, is the chief coordinator and official spokesperson for the delegation.
The team is proceeding to Pakistan at an invitation from the Karachi Press Club and the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (Piler). The team would also be visiting the Hyderabad Press Club.
The team would interact with journalists, social workers, peace activists, publishers, politicians, businessmen and who-is-who in the two cities.
“We have a very balanced team. We have a fair representation of women journalists in the delegation. We have journalists covering politics, social sector, business, films, crime and terrorism. We have a good mix of national dailies and regional media. We have also photo journalists. A few members of the delegation are also authors and experts in their own field,” Singh said.
“It is a significant step in fostering a bond between the journalists of the two countries. Several months of planning has gone to plan out the visit and finally see it materialise,” Mumbai Press Club’s Secretary Sunil Shivdasani said.
“We are very optimistic about the visit. It would start a new era in journalist-to-journalist interaction between the two countries,” said Prakash Akolkar, who is leading the delegation.
During the visit, the delegation would attend a round-table discussion on the role of Saarc in bringing the South Asian people closer. The team would be hosted by several politicians, including the governor and the chief minister of Sindh. The team would visit the offices and facilities of media houses, including the Jang Group of Newspapers, The News, Geo TV, Awami Awaz, Daily Business Recorder and Dawn. The team would also be visiting the office of the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum and the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The journalists will also tour Karachi Univeristy, the National Museum and the Mohatta Palace.
Jatin Desai thanked the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi and the Interior Ministry of Pakistan in clearing the visas. “The response has been very positive,” he said. “As a matter of fact, our counterparts in Pakistan were very excited about the visit. There have been a few articles in news media about our proposed visit,” he pointed out.
Source: The News
Date:11/14/2011
