Responding to these concerns, Federal Secretary Ambreen Jan assured the APNS delegation of the government’s commitment to resolving the issues through mutual understanding and cooperation. She directed the PIO and DG (IP) to immediately examine and address the concerns regarding delayed payments and ad distribution
ISLAMABAD, JUN 16 /DNA/ – The Federal Secretary for Information and Broadcasting, Ms. Ambreen Jan, held a detailed meeting with the newly formed Federal Capital Committee (Islamabad & Rawalpindi) of APNS, under the Chairmanship of Mr. Faisal Zahid Malik, Chairman & CEO Pakistan Observer.
Also present were senior officials from the Ministry, including Mr. Mobashir Hasan (Principal Information Officer), Mr. Ashiq Hussain Sheikh (Director General, IP Wing), Mr. Sohail Aftab (Director), Mr. Adnan Arjmand (Deputy Director), and Mr. Arshad Khan (Deputy Director). and Mr. Tahir Mughal of Daily Nawa-e-Pak attended the meeting.
Members of the Federal Capital Committee who attended included Mr. Khushnood Ali Khan (Editor-in-Chief, Daily Sahafat), Mr. Waseem Ahmad (Editor-in-Chief, Daily Awam), Mr. Ansar Mahmood Bhatti (Editor-in-Chief, Monthly Centreline), Mr. Agha Bilal (Head of Marketing, Daily Dawn), Mr. Abid Mughal (Regional Head Marketing, Daily Khabrain), and Syed Amjad Ali (Daily Jang).
At the outset, the APNS delegation congratulated Ms. Ambreen Jan on her elevation to Grade-22 and expressed optimism about enhanced collaboration between the ministry and media stakeholders.
The Chairman of the Federal Committee also commended the Ministry of Information, under the leadership of Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, for effectively articulating and defending Pakistan’s position during the recent armed engagement with India.
The APNS representatives raised several key issues during the meeting, including:
Pending payments to APNS member publications for government advertisements.
Unfair distribution of advertisement share among APNS member outlets.
Non-implementation of revised advertisement rates that were previously promised.
Suspension of government advertisements to the newspaper DAWN, highlighting the need for an equitable and inclusive policy.
Operational challenges posed by the Press Registrar’s office and the Press Council of Pakistan.
Responding to these concerns, Federal Secretary Ambreen Jan assured the APNS delegation of the government’s commitment to resolving the issues through mutual understanding and cooperation. She directed the PIO and DG (IP) to immediately examine and address the concerns regarding delayed payments and ad distribution.
Ms. Jan reaffirmed the government’s intention to revise and enhance advertisement rates for newspapers and periodicals, instructing the DG (IP) to move a summary in this regard, which would be forwarded to the Prime Minister via the Ministry of Finance.
Addressing concerns about dummy publications, the Secretary stressed the importance of transparency and proposed joint efforts by the government and APNS to identify and eliminate non-genuine newspapers from the system. She requested the APNS’s support in this regard, promising full cooperation from the Ministry.
The Secretary and PIO assured that all efforts shall be made to the clear the pending payments before June 30.
The meeting concluded on a positive and collaborative note, with both sides agreeing to maintain ongoing dialogue and work together to promote fairness, professionalism, and sustainability in the media sector.
