APNS urges government to raise advertising rates, clear outstanding dues

KARACHI: Principal Information Officer (PIO) Raisa Adil visited APNS House and held a meeting with Sindh-based members of the Executive Committee of the All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) to discuss key issues confronting the newspaper industry. She was accompanied by Irum Tanvir, Director General PID Karachi.
APNS President Senator Sarmad Ali welcomed the PIO and briefed her on the economic and operational challenges being faced by the print media industry.
He pointed out that the Prime Minister’s commitment to increase government advertising rates for print media had yet to be implemented despite the severe financial pressures facing newspapers. He urged the government to implement the promised increase in advertising rates without further delay.
The APNS President also proposed that government advertising rates should subsequently be delinked from the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) and frozen until a new mechanism is developed for determining newspaper circulation and readership. He further suggested merging the offices of the ABC and the Press Registrar into a single entity.
Senator Sarmad Ali maintained that the authority to determine government advertisement rates should be transferred from the Cabinet Division to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, in line with the policy applicable to other media.
APNS Executive Committee members reiterated the need for reforms and restructuring of the ABC and the office of the Press Registrar. They stressed that registration rules should be simplified in consultation with all relevant stakeholders.
The members also raised the issue of outstanding payments, observing that PID Islamabad had yet to clear a major portion of dues owed to member publications for advertisements released following the introduction of the new advertising policy in 2020.
They requested the PIO to expedite payment of the outstanding dues and ensure a fair share of government advertisements for print media.
The members further proposed that regional PID offices should be empowered to recommend newspapers and other publications operating in their respective regions, while government clients should be allowed greater flexibility in selecting media according to their communication requirements.
The APNS President noted that the existing government advertising policy was largely rooted in the 1964 framework and required a comprehensive review to address the requirements of today’s media industry.
Executive Committee members proposed that PID’s regional offices and client departments should be empowered to prepare media plans in accordance with their communication objectives and target audiences.
The PIO thanked the APNS leadership and Executive Committee members for sharing their concerns and assured them that efforts would be made to address the issues at the earliest.
The meeting was attended by Senator Sarmad Ali, President; Nazafreen Saigol Lakhani, Senior Vice President; Shahab Zuberi, Vice President; Muhammad Athar Kazi, Secretary General; Javed Mehr Shamsi (Kaleem); Kazi Asad Abid (Ibrat); Younus Mehr (Halchal); Dr Jabbar Khattak (Awami Awaz); Bilal Farooqui (Aghaz); Fauzia Shaheen (Dastak); Mumtaz Phulpoto (Awami Parchar); Tahir Qureshi (Naey Ufaq); Syed Akbar Tahir (Jasarat); Najamuddin Sheikh (Deyanat); Aamir Malik (Mashriq); and Ali Hamza and Muhammad Irfan (Ummat).