Functions of Different Sections of the Information and Public Relations Department

 Functions of Duty Officer (Evening Shift)

This is perhaps the most important section headed by an experienced officer. All the material issued on day-to-day basis, is being rounded through this section. All the handouts/press releases prepared by the PROs and the announcements or notifications of the Government, autonomous or semi-autonomous bodies are being referred to this section.

This section is responsible to edit the news items and shape it in the journalistic form, get it typed, translate in Urdu or English and syclotyled. Approximately 35-40 copies of each news item are prepared and then distributed among the electronic and print media. If an important handout reaches this section late, that could be typed, translated and even communicated to the offices of the media-men at Peshawar as sell as Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi within the matter of minutes through the modern communication system of Fax. This section has also the facility of telephone.

All the Divisional Information Offices of province are linked with this section through fax and telephone and a "hot news" of far flung area of NWFP can be communicated to the media offices in a very short time. The in charge of the shift (Duty Officer) is assisted by Assistant Information Officers, Article Writers, Translators, English and Urdu Steno-Typists. This section also has cyclostyle machines operated by an experienced hand. All the handouts/photographs duly captioned are distributed through Naib Qasids having the facility of two scooters and a bicycle. Approximately 2-4 trips are made daily for the distribution purposes. Besides a vehicle is also available to the Duty Officer for any emergent duty.

The Duty Officer is also responsible to check and see the photographs prepared by the department before it is dispatched to the Print Media. Besides, in unavoidable situation, like public holidays, when the staff of the advertisement section is not available, this section with special directives of the Director of Information, also issues advertisements to the Press and peruse its appearance on the required dates. Likewise, the in charge of the section also arranges coverage for meetings/engagements of emergent nature and deputes an officer of his shift for the purpose. Sometime he also receives direct messages from the Provincial Ministers and other VIPs and issue handouts accordingly.