On July 9, Information and Broadcasting Minister Attaullah Tarar said the federal government is committed to supporting the print media and will soon implement Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s assurance to revise government advertisement rates.
Speaking to members of the All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) Executive Committee at a dinner hosted by the Ministry of Information, the Minister said the move aims to promote a vibrant and responsible print media and curb the spread of disinformation from fake platforms.
He stated that payment issues facing the newspaper industry were being actively addressed. The federal government has paid over Rs.6 billion to the media towards their dues, he said, adding that the share of print media in both total payments and advertisement volume would be increased.
He assured that the Ministry was putting in its best efforts to ensure that all dues are cleared regularly, with no pending liabilities. A committee comprising all stakeholders has also been constituted to identify and eliminate dummy publications. “This initiative will strengthen the economies of genuine publications,” he added. The Minister also encouraged newspapers to innovate in order to meet the challenges facing the print industry.
Earlier, APNS President Senator Sarmad Ali, along with members of the Executive Committee, briefed the Minister on various issues. They recalled that the Prime Minister had announced an increase in advertisement rates in August 2023, which has yet to be implemented despite repeated assurances.
Committee members also highlighted that while a significant payment was released to media houses recently, less than 20 percent was allocated to newspapers, with the majority going to electronic media. They requested a fair share of the advertising budget for print publications. The members also reiterated their demand that regional Press Information Department (PID) offices be authorized to recommend media outlets from their respective areas.
The dinner was attended by Secretary Information Ms. Ambreen Jan, Principal Information Officer Mubashar Hasan, and other senior officials of the Ministry. APNS was represented by Secretary General Muhammad Athar Kazi, Finance Secretary Navèed Kashif, and other Executive Committee members.
Earlier in the day, the Executive Committee of APNS held its meeting in Islamabad, chaired by its President, Senator Sarmad Ali.
Announcing the committee’s decisions, Secretary General Mohammad Athar Kazi said that members urged both federal and provincial governments to expedite long-pending payments to ease the financial strain on the print media industry.
The Committee expressed concern over the non-payment of dues by DGPR from previous years. It was decided that a delegation, led by the APNS President, would meet the Secretary Information Sindh to press for the release of long-overdue non-budgeted payments.
The Executive Committee also approved the report of the Advertising Committee and granted provisional accreditation to M/s Brand Spectrum (Pvt.) Ltd., Lahore.
Those present at the meeting included Senator Sarmad Ali, Mohammad Athar Kazi, Naveed Kashif, Mohsin Bilal, Mohsin Seyal (Aftab), Bilal Farooqi (Aghaz), Ansar Mahmood Bhatti (Monthly Centre Line), Fauzia Shaheen (M/Dastak), Najamuddin Sheikh (D/Deyanat), Javed Mehr Shamsi (D/Kaleem), Imtinan Shahid (D/Khabrain), Bilal Mahamood (Nawa-e-Waqt), Rasakh Munir (D/Mashriq Peshawar), Aamir Malik (D/Mashriq Quetta), S.M. Munir Jilani (D/Paigham), Usman Mujib Shami (D/Pakistan), Faisal Zahid Malik (D/Pakistan Observer), Khushnood Ali Khan (D/Sahafat), Humayun Gulzar (D/Sayadat), Imran Ather (D/Tijarat), and Syed Haroon Shah (D/Wahdat).
