KARACHI: The Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) has expressed great concerns over the denial of government advertisements to Sindh-based newspapers and called upon the Federal Government to stop the information department from crushing the media institutions of the province.
This demand was raised at a meeting of Editors of Sindh-based newspapers in its Sindh Committee Meeting which was convened to deliberate upon the non-release of Federal Government’s advertisements pertaining to announcements, employment opportunities, auctions, procurements, tender notices, public welfare schemes, development projects and other public awareness campaigns to Sindh-based newspapers.
A resolution adopted at the meeting says that the incumbent Federal Government which chooses to ignore Sindh-based newspapers in respect of advertisements should also stop benefitting from the income generated by the coal, gas, oil, port and other resources of Sindh.
The meeting strongly urged Prime Minister Imran Khan and Federal Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry to ensure immediate, judicious and impartial distribution of advertisements among Sindh-based newspapers on the pattern of National Finance Commission award.
The resolution further says that the act of pushing newspapers of Sindh into an economic crisis will not only render thousands of journalists and media workers jobless, but will also deprive the people of their right to access to information. It warns that such measures are harmful foe Federal solidarity.
Those who spoke at the meeting included CPNE Secretary General Dr. Jabbar Khattak, Deputy Chairman Sindh Committee Ghulam Nabi Chandio and senior members Aijazul Haq, Aamer Mahmood, Kazi Asad Abid, Hamid Hussain Abidi, Adnan Malik, Anwar Sajidi, Tahir Farooq, Sher Muhammad Khuhawar, Abdul Khalique Ali, Abdul Rehman Mangrio, Muhammad Tahir, Muzaffar Ejaz, Ahmed Iqbal Baloch, Muhammad Younus Mahar, Rafiq Ahmed Pirzada, Mian Tariq Jawed, Usman Arib Sati, Faisal Shahjahan, Sohbat Buriro, Muhammad Jafar Jatoi, Bashir Ahmed Memon, Raza Shah, Dr Waqar Yousuf Azimi, Qazi Shahmeer, Salman Qureshi, Amir Khatak, Tariq Aziz, Rafaqat Tanoli, Ali Bin Younus, Mehmood Alam Khalid, Zahida Abbasi, Hasina Jatoi and Sidra Kanwal.