Govt must address newspaper industry challenges without delay: Faisal Zahid Malik

APNS Federal Committee demands fair distribution of advertisements, prompt recovery Abdul Hadi Mayar Islamabad The Federal Committee of the All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) held its meeting at Ali Akbar House, Islamabad, under the chairmanship of Faisal Zahid Malik, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Pakistan Observer. The meeting was attended by Hafeez Asim, daily Nawa–e-Waqt/ The Nation; Naveed Niazi, daily Pakistan, Ansar Bhatti, Centerline; Tariq Mughal, Nawa-e-Pak; Waseem Ahmad, Daily Awam; Syed Ahmad Ali, Daily Jang; Khushnood Ali Khan, Daily Sahafat; Raffy Niazi, Daily Patriot and Syed Irfan Shah. The committee thoroughly discussed the problems faced by the newspaper industry. They observed that the industry was facing critical conditions and it was virtually on ventilator. They urged the need for early settlement of these problems. The participants lamented that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and its allied departments were not distributing advertisements in a just and fair manners. Besides, the Press Information Department (PID) was not clearing dues of newspapers despite the passage of several years. It was observed that though three years had passed since the induction of the present government but it had done nothing for the welfare of the newspaper industry. The participants emphasized the need for a minimum of 50% of payments should be cleared in June 2026. They said the present media distribution was not fair since long. The participants warned that APNS will again start to suspend government clients if they did not pay even after 6 Months. They said the role of PID in Recoveries from other Govt clients is not satisfactory since long. The participants urged the need for fixing meetings with Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar, Secretary Information and the Principal Information Officer to request them to resolve these issues. The APNS leadership was urged to undertake client assessment to regulari