"The All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) strongly flays the levy of Sales Tax on newspapers by the Punjab government contrary to earlier assurances made by the Chief Minister, Punjab. Hameed Haroon, President, APNS has stated that an advertisement of the Punjab Government has appeared recently in a section of the press which has dismayed the member publications of the APNS.
In this advertisement, the Government of Punjab has extended the regime of Sales Tax to advertisements appearing in newspapers. The APNS has noted that the decision was a clear violation of the assurances made by the Chief Minister of Punjab, Mian Shahbaz Sharif that the situation would be reviewed with the office bearers of the APNS and the new Sales Tax regime would be possibly withdrawn as a consequence. It appears that the civil bureaucracy of the Punjab Government is determined to destroy the cordial relations between the Government of the Punjab and the print media especially in a period of major political upheaval confronted by the present government. The President, APNS has urged upon Mian Shahbaz Sharif to take note of these covert measures to weaken his government. The APNS strongly demands that the present offending advertisements be cancelled and newspapers and magazines be exempted from the imposition of GST in the Punjab province, pending an amicable resolution of this matter in a meeting with the Chief Minister and the APNS.-PR