KARACHI – The Sindh Committee of the All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) held a meeting under the chairmanship of Javed Mehr Shamsi.
Members voiced serious concerns over the Press Information Department (PID) ignoring Sindh-based newspapers and the delays in timely payments for issued advertisements. The committee demanded swift disbursement of payments related to advertisements released by PID.
Participants also highlighted that the Sindh Information Department had drastically reduced advertisement allocation to newspapers and magazines, falling below 10% of the agreed volume. Furthermore, APNS member publications were reportedly being completely overlooked in the distribution of government ads.
The committee demanded that the advertisement quota for print media be restored to at least 40%, and that APNS member publications be given priority. They rejected the newly introduced payment system for non-budgeted advertisements and called for the restoration of the previous system, where such payments were made monthly by the Sindh Information Department.
Expressing regret over the ongoing payment delays, the committee stated that the print media industry is facing a severe financial crisis as a result. It urged authorities to ensure the clearance of all outstanding dues before Eid.
The meeting was attended by the following Javed Mehr Shamsi (Chairman, Sindh Committee), Younus Mehr (Vice Chairman, Daily Hulchal), Muhammad Athar Qazi (Secretary General), Mumtaz Ali Phulpoto (Daily Awami Parchar), Ali Bin Younus (Daily Byopar), Khurram Hussain (Daily Dawn), Najmuddin Sheikh (Daily Diyanat), Qazi Mustafa (Daily Ibrat), Haseena Jatoi (Daily Momal), Zahida Abbasi (Daily Nausij), Imtiaz Athar Qazi (Daily Tameer-e-Sindh) and Shahid Saathi (Daily Watan Gujarati).
