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APNS thanks govt for Rs 174m grant to clear dues

KARACHI: The APNS has appreciated the sanction by the federal government of a record grant of Rs 174 million to clear the long outstanding dues of member publications in a very short period and hoped that the Ministry of Information would disburse the payments before Eid, setting aside the procedural impediments wherever possible, says a press release of the society.

The Secretary General of the All Pakistan Newspapers Society, Arshad A. Zuberi stated that the Executive Committee of the APNS, which met here under the chairmanship of its President, Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman, has expressed its satisfaction that the long pending issue of the payment of overdue bills of newspapers and periodicals relating to the government advertising has at last been settled by the present government. He said: "This appreciable decision to ensure financial viability of the press manifests the approach of the present government to protect the freedom of press in the country, which till the present has abided by its commitments to a free press. The members appreciated the gesture of Shaukat Aziz, the Finance Minister, Javed Jabbar and Khawaja Ejaz Sarwar, Minister and Secretary of Information respectively in this respect and noted that this achievement could be possible through the efforts of the president of the APNS". The members noted that since the publications had already submitted their bills and related documents, it would be cumbersome for them to provide once again the papers relating to very old periods. Further the PID had already paid 40 percent of these dues in late 1997, which suggested that the PID possessed the claimed bills and it had paid the above amount after due verification. The members pointed out that since the grant had been sanctioned on the request of the APNS, the priority should be given to the claims of APNS members for the period up to December 31, 1999.

Arshad Zuberi further said: "The members thoroughly deliberated the issue of the formation of the Press Council and observed that the Press Council is meant to address the grievances and complaints of the public at large against the press and is required to protect the rights of the citizens of the country enshrined in the Article 19 of the Constitution of Pakistan. The council, therefore, should act as a forum to ensure accountability of the print media and not to be controlled by the government or publishers and editors of newspapers. They opined that the council in Pakistan should be formed taking into account of the style and pattern of the Press Council in other countries of the world. The members also observed that the Press Council should be structured in such a manner that it becomes a highly representative and credible body to help the country usher in a civilised society. It should consist of representatives of different section of the society including publishers, journalists, editors, lawyers, legislators etc., nominated by their respective professional organisations. The Executive Committee urged upon the government to enact the long pending Freedom of Information Act along with related press laws without any delay. The Executive Committee decided to finalise draft Press Council Act in consultation with CPNE and formed a committee under Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman comprising Mahmood-ul-Aziz, Dr. Jabbar Khattak and Arshad A. Zuberi to accomplish the task within 10 days.

The members of the APNS Executive Committee noted with concern that the information departments of NWFP, Sindh and the Punjab have arbitrarily delisted several members of the APNS without assigning any reason thereof. The APNS called upon the provincial governments that before delisting any publication from approved media list the APNS should be duly consulted and the APNS should be provided a clearly defined criterian of listing on media list to ensure transparency of the process. The members also noted that the provincial governments of NWFP, Punjab and Sindh have curtailed the quantum of advertisements to many smaller and medium sized publications and in some cases the government advertisements are being denied to these publications on the whims and wishes of the officials of information departments. The members noted that the officials of information departments have conducted raids on the offices of some newspapers. This practice should be stopped forthwith and no action against any member publication of the APNS should be taken without prior consultations.

The Executive Committee discussed the annual report for the 1999-2000 of the Secretary General and advised the members to send their suggestions before March 15, 2000 to the Secretariat on the basis of which, the report would be finalised by the President and the Secretary General of the society. The members authorised the President to fix a date for the annual general meeting to be held in Karachi by the end of the month, so as coincide with the 15th APNS Award ceremony.

The meeting attended by Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman, President, Jamil Athar, Senior Vice-President, Zia Shahid, Vice-President, Arshad A. Zuberi, Secretary General, Waqar Azeemi, Joint Secretary, Kazi Mohammad Aslam, Finance Secretary, Mumtaz A. Tahir (Aftab), Dr. Jabbar Khattak (Awami Awaz), Siddiq Baloch (Balochistan Express), Syed Fasih Iqbal (Balochistan Times), Abdul Rashid Ghazi (Business Report), Riaz A. Mansuri (Cricketer), Shakil Masood (Dawn), Najmuddin Sheikh (Deyanat), Rai Farooq (Family Magazine), Kazi Asad Abid (Ibrat Magazine), Sharif Farooq (Jihad), Syed Shahid Hashmi (Daily Jasarat), Javed Mehr Shamsi (Kaleem), Aamir Mahmood (Kiran), Syed Sajjad Bokhari (Musawat), Hassan Poya (The Muslim), Mushtaq A. Qureshi (Naey Ufaq), S.M. Munir Jillani (Paigham), Mujeebur Rahman Shami (Pakistan), Ilyas Shakir (Qaumi Akhbar), Khushnood Ali Khan (Sahafat), Altaf Hassan Qureshi (Urdu Digest), Pir Sufaid Shah Hamdard (Wahdat), Mustafa Sadiq (Wifaq) and Mrs. Masudah M. Ahmed (The Teenager).