The All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) flayed the consistent indifference of the Federal Government and especially the Ministry of Information towards the long pending issues of newspaper industry, stated the APNS press statement.
Sarmad Ali, Secretary General, APNS announcing the decision taken at the Executive Committee meeting held under the chairmanship of Hameed Haroon, President, APNS, stated that the members at the Executive Committee have expressed their concerns over the non-payment of dues of member publications and advertising agencies by the Federal Government for the current year as well as the long outstanding dues against devolved ministries and the federal government departments for which, the Prime Minister had already approved the summaries. The situation has caused an acute financial crunch for the newspaper industry which is braving the crises with grave problems. The Executive Committee also noted that the print share in the campaigns launched by the Federal Government was consistently decreasing which has considerably slashed advertising in newspapers, causing survival issues for smaller and regional publications. The Executive Committee also noted that the Advisor on Information, then Secretary Information and the PIO had vowed to resolve the problems including increased advertising share for print, notification of rate increase pending for 03 years and payment of dues at the earliest but these assurances were yet to be honoured. The members at the Executive Committee deplored that the Joint Committee of APNS, CPNE and the PID formed on the initiative of PIO, has not been convened despite lapse of about four months.-PR
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