APNS reviews financial position of newspapers in Punjab

LAHORE: The Punjab Committee of the All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) met under the chairmanship of Punjab Committee President Jameel Athar Qazi to review the overall financial situation of newspapers in Punjab, government advertisements, payment of outstanding dues and other issues confronting the print media.

Director General of the Directorate General Public Relations (DGPR) Punjab Farid Ahmed Sheikh attended the meeting and briefed participants on the department’s performance, ongoing reforms and cooperation with the media.

The participants expressed satisfaction with appreciation for the performance of Punjab Information Minister Azma Bukhari and the DGPR team, particularly their cooperation with the media and efforts to address various issues.

Director General PID Lahore Shafqat Abbas also attended the meeting and briefed participants on measures taken during the past six months regarding payment of newspaper dues, transparent distribution of advertisements and improvement of media-related matters.

The meeting expressed concern over a significant decline in government advertisements for the print media during the past three months, saying the situation had created serious financial difficulties for newspapers, particularly regional publications. The committee demanded an appropriate and fair share of government advertising for print media in public awareness campaigns.

Concern was also expressed over delays in IPL payments. The committee said timely payments were necessary to enable newspapers to meet employees’ salaries and routine expenses, and demanded that IPL payments be made every month within the stipulated time.

The participants also called for immediate payment of SPL and other government dues, demanding that all outstanding payments up to at least December 2025 be cleared and older pending dues be addressed on a priority basis.

The meeting also discussed the issue of newspaper advertising business in case of the death of a publisher.

The committee proposed that only payments should be withheld until completion of legal formalities, while advertisements should continue to be issued. It was agreed that the legal teams of the DGPR and APNS would consult to formulate a clear, transparent and workable procedure in this regard.

At the conclusion, the participants expressed their commitment to further strengthening cooperation among the Punjab government, the DGPR and APNS to find effective and lasting solutions to the issues faced by the print media.

APNS President Sarmad Ali, DGPR Punjab Farid Ahmed Sheikh, DG PID Lahore Shafqat Abbas, Syed Munir Jilani, Mohsin Bilal, Imtinan Shahid, Usman Shami, Sajjad Bukhari, Owais Razi, Mohsin Mumtaz Sial, Humayun Tariq, Humayun Gulzar, Amjad Iqbal, Imran Athar, Naveed Chaudhry, Owais Khushnood, Bilal Mahmood, Noorullah, Shahid Mahmood, Tanveer Shah, Farooq Chaudhry and Irfan Athar attended the meeting.