- GBNS accuses govt of using tactics to close region’s media industry
In a surprising move, owners of all local newspapers in Gilgit-Baltistan have suspended publishing their papers for indefinite time against unfriendly attitude of the regional government and nonpayment of advertisement bills.
For the first over a dozen of local newspapers, which largely depend on the government advertisements to run their offices, have closed their offices on Tuesday to remain shut till clearance of dues and changes in rules damaging the media industry.
Office bearers of the Gilgit-Baltistan Newspapers Society (GBNS) accused the regional government of using various tactics intended to close media industry in the region. The owners were finally left with no option but to stop printing their papers until payment of the dues, they said.
In a statement issued by the regional media forum, owners of the local papers said that the decision of suspending printing/circulation of the papers was taken unanimously. The statement said that various government departments have not been paying dues to local newspapers for the last two years. “The government is liable to pay over Rs 100 million to the newspapers,” it said.
Through a resolution passed by GBNS on Wednesday, a copy of which is available with Pakistan Today, the media owners have demanded of the government to clear dues up to December 31, 2016. They also demanded that the distribution of advertisements to newspapers should be as per the policy existed before 2013.
The GBNS members also demanded change of information secretary, forming rules of business of the Information Department and advertisement policy besides auditing the department by the relevant auditors.
Talking to Pakistan Today, GBNS president Eman Shah said that following non-payment of dues, owners of the newspapers were not in a position to pay salaries to their staff, and many papers are getting bankrupt. He said that media industry in the region depends on government advertisements to generate their revenues.
For the last two years since the PML-N government came into power in the region in 2015, local media industry was in financial crunch, he said. He also alleged the government was deliberately not paying dues to stop media highlighting bad governance and irregularities in the area.
“For the first time, media industry in the area is being shut down due to financial crisis,” he said. GBNS Secretary Ashraf Ashoor accused the government of using different tactics to control the media, adding the government has already minimised the number of advertisements.
He said that all business of issuing/distributing advertisement has been given to a ‘media cell’ constituted illegally by the government. “The cell being run through contractual employees usually blackmail newspapers,” he alleged, adding that the information department, as per the Gilgit Baltistan Self Governance Ordinance 2009, should be run the GB Council. However, the same is presently being run on ad-hock basis.
He said that the regional government also tried to curtail media freedom issuing notices to media organisations through bureaucracy. The intentions of the government were clear, it wants complete control over local media or close down, he said. According to him, GBNS members had met GB governor, chief minister and other officials requesting to solve the issue, but all in vain.
Earlier, journalists’ unions have also registered protest in different districts of the region against the miss use of power and harassing journalists by issuing notices. When contacted, GB Minister for Law Dr Muhammad Iqbal said that the closure of the newspapers would be very unfortunate development. “We will take up the issue with chief minister after his return from China,” he said, adding the grievances of media were true.
