Lahore: The Punjab Committee meeting of the All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) was held at a local hotel under the chairmanship of Jameel Athar Qazi. The meeting discussed in detail the relationship between the government and the print media, the share of print media in the Punjab government’s advertisement budget, the issue of pending payments of newspapers, and the simplification of the payment process.
From the Punjab government, Secretary Information Punjab Tahir Raza Hamdani and DGPR Fareed Ahmad attended the meeting, while from APNS, participants included Chairman Jameel Athar Qazi, Mujeeb-ur-Rehman Shami (Chief Editor, Daily Pakistan), Mohsin Bilal (Joint Secretary APNS, Daily Ausaf), S.M. Munir Jelani (Paigham), Syed Sajjad Bukhari (Ab Tak), Humayun Gulzar (Siyadat), Imran Raza (Dawn), Bilal Mahmood (Nawa-i-Waqt), Muhammad Farooq (Pakistan), Fahad Safdar (Sarzameen), Noorullah (Jang), Amjad Iqbal (Jinnah), Naveed Chaudhry (Daily City 42), Imran Athar (Jurrat), Rehman Athar (The Business), Ashraf Sohail (Mashriq), and Ali Sajjad (Minute Mirror).
During the meeting, it was informed that a payment settlement formula between DGPR and APNS has already been finalized, and some positive measures have been implemented to simplify the payment process, with progress already underway. The issue of issuing IPL and Color SPL to regional newspapers was also raised, to which the Secretary Information assured that not only would this issue be resolved but implementation would begin before the next meeting.
Addressing the meeting, Secretary Information Punjab Tahir Raza Hamdani said that the relationship between the government and print media is exemplary and efforts are being made to further strengthen it. He suggested that newspapers should introduce reforms to align themselves with modern requirements and effectively use information technology to increase readership and reach a wider audience.
Chief Editor of Daily Pakistan and senior journalist Mujeeb-ur-Rehman Shami remarked that grievances are natural, but if they are addressed through dialogue, relations remain pleasant. He added that the current government consists of serious-minded people who understand how to resolve such issues.
Chairman APNS Punjab Committee Jameel Athar Qazi welcomed the guests, listened to members’ views, and shared his suggestions. In his address, he said that the relationship between the government and the print media has never been as friendly as it is today. He thanked Secretary Information Tahir Raza Hamdani and DGPR Fareed Ahmad for attending the special meeting.
