• March 5, 2024
• Print Media
• Web Desk

The All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) concluded its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on March 2nd with the election of new office bearers and a strong call for government intervention to address the dire financial struggles facing the country’s print media industry.

Nazafreen Saigol Lakhani was unanimously elected President of the APNS, alongside other key appointments, including Imtinan Shahid as Senior Vice President, Muhammad Aslam Kazi as Vice President, Sarmad Ali as Secretary General, Syed Muhammad Munir Jilani as Joint Secretary and Shahab Zuberi as Finance Secretary of the Society.

The Council unanimously endorsed the Executive Committee’s report for the fiscal year 2023-2024, along with the Society’s Annual Accounts for 2023.

Comprising 116 members from various regions of the country, the General Council established an Election Commission chaired by Dr. Waqar Yousuf Azeemi, with Syed Irfan Shah and Zahid Hafeez serving as members. This Election Commission oversaw the election process for the Executive Committee for the year 2024-25.

The AGM expressed grave concern over the impact of the current economic crisis on print media. The newly elected Executive Committee urged the government to implement decisions made during Prime Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif’s last tenure, including increasing government advertisement rates. They also pressed for the prompt payment of long-outstanding dues to the newspaper sector.

In a separate resolution, the APNS condemned the Press Information Department’s (PID) decision to remove 17 publications, including 11 APNS members, from the Combined Media List. The society appealed to the Ministry of Information to reverse this decision.

Several dailies and magazines were elected unopposed to the APNS Executive Committee for the upcoming term. Additionally, with seven candidates vying for six Karachi daily seats, the Election Commission conducted elections. Subsequently, Daily Aghaz, Daily Business Recorder, Daily Dawn, Daily Deyanat, Daily Jasarat, and Daily Jiddat emerged as the elected representatives through a secret ballot. The new Executive Committee also appointed Zahida Abbasi of Daily Nau Sijj, Karachi, to the woman-publisher seat.

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah congratulated the newly elected APNS office bearers, stating, “I am confident that the newly elected office bearers will play a positive role for the responsible journalism […] and I will discuss their issues with the federal government.”