Date: 28 July 2025, Karachi : In its first meeting, the Sindh Committee of the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) expressed deep concern over the overall situation of press freedom across Sindh and strongly condemned the recent unpleasant incident at the Karachi bureau office of Daily Ibrat. The meeting was chaired by Sindh Committee Chairman Qazi Asad Abid, who stated that the protection of press freedom has always been a core principle of CPNE. He further said that Daily Ibrat has maintained a moderate editorial policy for 68 years, yet it was subjected to this incident, which remains unresolved. Shockingly, no government official has condemned the incident, nor have any relevant ministers shown concern or sought information about it.
Qazi Asad Abid added that as Chairman of the Sindh Committee, he would strive to implement the suggestions submitted in writing and, with the approval of the CPNE President, Secretary General, and the OBC, aim to hold monthly meetings of the Sindh Committee.
CPNE Secretary General Ghulam Nabi Chandio expressed hope that under Qazi Asad Abid’s leadership, the Sindh Committee would play an effective role in addressing press freedom issues and the challenges faced by member publications in the province. He assured that the CPNE Secretariat would extend full cooperation in this regard. He emphasized that CPNE is firmly committed to the cause of press freedom. Recently, CPNE held a grand ceremony in Islamabad to launch the Media Freedom Report, which was attended by a large number of prominent journalists. Many highlighted the challenges to press freedom in their columns and vlogs, marking a significant achievement for CPNE. He also mentioned that CPNE is working on upgrading its website and social media platforms to enhance its advocacy for press freedom.
Sindh Committee Deputy Chairman Aamir Mehmood highlighted that the Press Council of Pakistan has imposed a levy on newspapers and made certain processes conditional on its payment. He stressed that CPNE must handle this matter with wisdom. He also pointed out the challenges faced by periodicals and appealed to CPNE for their resolution.
Dr. Jabbar Khattak stated that the hybrid system of governance has stripped people of their fundamental freedoms. Newspapers cannot publish content with courage and honesty due to various obstacles, including targeting of journalists, issuance of notices to newspapers, and the use of advertising as a coercive tool. He said both the Sindh and federal governments are delaying efforts to establish a fair and transparent advertising system, consistently ignoring CPNE’s demands. He emphasized that advertisements are the economic lifeline of newspapers and are being used to curb press freedom. “Remember,” he said, “if there is no press freedom, there will be no media.”
Senior member Ejaz Haq said that despite the dire state of press freedom in the country, CPNE is the only institution that consistently reaffirms its principled and constitutional stance on these issues. It aims to unify all journalistic organizations to strengthen the platform of press freedom. He informed members that CPNE continues to engage with relevant ministers in Sindh to resolve issues faced by newspapers and provides updates to its members. He also briefed the meeting on the recent CPNE delegation’s meeting with Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon.
Finance Secretary Hamid Hussain Abidi remarked that journalism is their livelihood, and society has lost its values of tolerance and mutual respect. If journalists are no longer committed to journalism, politicians too have forgotten democratic values.
The meeting decided that any legislation related to media by the government must not be done without consultation with media stakeholders. CPNE also took serious note of the fact that details of government advertisements are not published on official websites, affecting transparency.
Additionally, it was observed that the Karachi Post Office is causing unnecessary delays in payments to periodicals. It was agreed that the Postmaster General will be informed of this issue.
Participants of the meeting included:
CPNE Sindh Committee Chairman Qazi Asad Abid, Secretary General Ghulam Nabi Chandio, Finance Secretary Hamid Hussain Abidi, Joint Secretary Munazza Seham, Deputy Chairman Sindh Committee Aamir Mehmood, senior members Ejaz Haq, Dr. Jabbar Khattak, Maqsood Yousufi, Sher Muhammad Khawer, Abdul Sami Mangrio, Mehmood Alam Khalid, Ali Hamza Afghan, Hassan Abbas, Muddasir Alam, Mian Fazl Elahi, Syed Muddasir, Abdul Rasool Soomro, Ayaz Memon, Saleem Shaikh, Ali bin Younus, Muhammad Saeed Shah, Danish Channa, Shahid Saathi, Waheed Memon, Nasrullah Tanyo, Salman Qureshi, Qasim Soomro, Rehman Sikandar Malik, and Imran Korai.
