On February 24, Peshawar High Court (PHC) Chief Justice SM Atique Shah expressed displeasure after no representative from the Finance Department appeared in court during a hearing on a contempt of court petition regarding the non-payment of approximately Rs1.8 billion owed to newspapers for government advertisements. The petition was lodged by the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chapter of the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE),  by its chairman Tahir Farooq through advocates Shahid Naseem Chamkani and Ahsan Masood.

The legal action stems from a writ petition filed in 2023 that sought settlement of dues accrued from government advertisements. During subsequent proceedings, the authorities had acknowledged the debt and requested time for reconciliation. Following this, on May 22, 2024, the PHC ordered the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government to clear the dues and disposed of the petition.

However, the payments remain outstanding. The failure to comply led to the initiation of contempt proceedings against the relevant officials. During the hearing on February 24, the court was informed that recent meetings led the Finance Department to decide on releasing Rs800 million to the newspapers within the current financial year.

Justice Shah voiced dissatisfaction over the non-compliance and the absence of the finance secterary at the hearing. He summoned the secretary again and adjourned the hearing to a later date, issuing fresh notices to the department.