KARACHI: Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) on December 11 (Tuesday) will hold a protest demonstration against the Sindh government’s decision of disbursing newspapers’ dues through defaulter advertisement agencies.
According to a statement issued here Sunday, the newspaper editors, along with journalists and workers of the media outlets, will participate in the protest.
The decision in this regard was taken during an emergency meeting chaired by CPNE Secretary General Jabbar Khattak, the statement read further.
“The Sindh government is well aware of the fact that [these] advertisement agencies, despite having received funds worth billions from the government, did not clear newspapers’ dues earlier, which led to the ongoing financial crunch in the newspaper industry,” said a resolution unanimously passed during the meeting.
The meeting expressed concern over the release of funds worth over Rs2 billion by the provincial Information Ministry notwithstanding the bitter experience of the past and said, “The defaulter advertisement agencies will not pay the dues to the newspapers yet again which would further escalate the financial crisis.”
CPNE also reminded the Sindh government of the promises its representatives had made to the council time and again, wherein they had assured direct disbursement of funds and announced protesting against the Information Ministry’s decision if it fails to ensure the same by Monday (today).
