On January 21, the Peshawar High Court (PHC) issued a contempt of court notice to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa finance secretary, seeking an explanation over the continued non-payment of outstanding government advertisement dues to newspapers, despite assurances previously given to the court.
The notice was issued by a single-member bench of Justice Ijaz Anwar while hearing a contempt petition filed by the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chapter. The petition was filed through CPNE KP Chairman Tahir Farooq, and was represented by advocates Shahid Naseem Chamkani, Mohammad Ihsan Mehsud, and Ahsan Masood.
The court observed that the case involved a substantial amount payable to the petitioner organisation and, therefore, directed the finance secretary to submit an explanation. The matter was adjourned to a later date for further proceedings.
According to the petition, CPNE approached the Peshawar High Court in 2023 by filing a writ petition seeking clearance of approximately Rs1.8 billion in outstanding dues owed to newspapers for government advertisements, accumulated over several decades. During the hearing of the writ petition, the relevant authorities acknowledged the outstanding arrears.
A two-member bench comprising Justice Sahibzada Asadullah and Justice Wiqar Ahmad disposed of the writ petition on May 22, 2024. At that time, the then secretary of information, Syed Abdul Jabbar Khan, and the additional secretary, Abdul Haleem Khan, informed the court that the reconciliation process was underway and that the outstanding amounts would be calculated. The court allowed time for reconciliation and issued directions for payment of the arrears to newspapers.
Despite the passage of significant time following the court’s order, the dues were not cleared. As a result, CPNE filed the present contempt petition. During the proceedings, a deputy director (litigation) of the Information Department appeared before the court on November 10, 2025, and sought additional time to resolve the matter.
Counsel for the petitioner informed the court that the issue remained unresolved despite repeated assurances given to the court. It was further stated that the provincial government had been delaying the release of the required funds to the Information Department, which was responsible for making onward payments to the member newspapers of CPNE.
The bench was also informed that the reconciliation of dues was nearly complete and that a request for Rs800 million had been submitted to the Finance Department. However, the Finance Department had not yet released the requested amount.
