On February 13, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Adviser on Finance, Muzammil Aslam, assured a delegation of the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) that the longstanding issue of unpaid newspaper advertisement dues would be resolved. He stated that the provincial government would clear the outstanding amount of Rs1.40 billion in two instalments.

The assurance was given during a special meeting convened to address the pending payments. The CPNE delegation included former Secretary General Ijazul Haq, Secretary General Ghulam Nabi Chandio, and Chairman of CPNE’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chapter, Tahir Farooq.

Detailing the payment plan, Aslam explained that an agreement had been reached regarding Rs 798 million worth of verified accounts from provincial departments. He confirmed that 50% of this amount would be disbursed in the first week of March. The process for reconciling the remaining dues is currently underway, with full payment expected between July and September in the new financial year.

The resolution of this issue is critical as CPNE had previously filed a writ petition in the Peshawar High Court seeking to recover advertisement dues that had been pending for several years.  The case has been ongoing for the past two years. Due to the delays in payment, the High Court had issued a contempt notice against the Secretary of Finance. The next hearing is set for February 23 at the Peshawar High Court.

Aslam emphasised the government’s responsibility to pay the newspapers what they are due, asserting there would be no further delays in settling these accounts. This assurance aims to address the financial strain faced by the newspapers due to the non-payment of dues and to prevent any further legal complications.