Peshawar:Mian Jehangir Iqbal, Principal Information Officer (PIO), has said that the government firmly believed in freedom of Press and freedom of expression and was fully aware of the importance of regional press side by side national newspapers and as such striving for resolving their problems.
He was talking to editors of local newspapers at a lunch hosted in his honour by Tahir Farooq, vice chairman of CPNE Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and chief editor of daily Ittehad in Peshawar.
Tariq Mahmood Khan, Director General PID Peshawar, Shabidullah Wazir were also present. Tahir Farooq welcomed Mian Jehangir Iqbal and threw light on the problems faced by the regional newspapers.
Mian Jegangir Iqbal said that the procedure of transparent distribution of government advertisements to the regional newspapers would begin for implementation next week and made it clear that no dummy newspaper would be given advertisements.
He emphasized that payments of government advertisements would directly be made to the newspapers saying that there is complete harmony among information minister, secretary information and PIO in this respect.
He also made it clear that controversial payments would in no case be made against any claim.
He asked the editors and owners of the newspapers to submit in time their suggestions on govt new advertisement policy to avoid any confusion towards this end. He said CPNE had already given its recommendations on proposed advertisement policy to the government.