APNS rejects centralisation of media policy
KARACHI- The All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) has rejected the federal government’s policy of centralisation of media and termed it an effort to harm government-press relationship. It urged upon the government to immediately suspend its implementation and reframe the policy in consultation with the APNS, an APNS spokesman said.
APNS Secretary General Mohammad Aslam Kazi announced the decisions taken by the executive committee of the All Pakistan Newspapers Society at its meeting held here on April 10, 2003 under the chairmanship of its President Arif Nizami.
He said the executive committee has considered the centralisation policy of media adopted by the federal Cabinet on March 19, 2003 and resolved that the policy was continuation of the dictatorial policies of Ayub era, which did not suit a civilian and democratic government.
The policy was aimed at to concentrate release of the government advertisements in Press Information Department and snatching the authority of public relation professionals at semi-government and autonomous public bodies and organisations.
The APNS executive committee was of the opinion that this policy would not only infringe, upon the freedom of press, but also adversely affect the dynamics of market forces.
The resolution has called upon the federal government to immediately suspend implementation of anti-press policy and a new policy be formulated in consultation with the APNS.
In another resolution, the APNS executive committee strongly flayed delay in implementation and enforcement of Press Laws and noted that despite lapse of about eight months, the government has not yet finalised the rules for the operation of the promulgated Press Laws.
The executive committee was critical of the government in its failure in legislating the agreed amendments in the Freedom of Information Ordinance.
It discussed in detail the matters relating to press-government relations. It decided to form a committee under Hameed Haroon to chalk out a detailed programme for the celebration of Golden Jubilee of the APNS. The president and secretary general were authorised to form committees for 2003-04.
The members of the executive committee expressed their grief over the demise of Abdullah Malik, Begum Altaf Gohar and Kaleem Haqqani, the formal general manager of Daily Hurriyat, Karachi, and offered Fateha for the departed souls.
The meeting was attended by APNS President Arif Nizami, Senior Vice President Syed Faseih Iqbal, Vice President Mumtaz A. Tahir, Secretary General Mohammad Aslam Kazi, Joint Secretary Mushtaq Ahmed Qureshi, Finance Secretary Waqar Yousuf Azeemi, Wasim Ahmed (daily Awam, Quetta), Dr Jabbar Khattak (daily Awami Awaz ), Anwar Farooqui (daily Aghaz ), Arshad A. Zuberi (daily Business Recorder ), Abdul Rashid Ghazi (daily Business Report ), Najmuddin Sheikh (daily Deyanat ), Masood Hamid (daily Dawn ), Iqbal Sidhu (daily Din ), Kazi Asad Abid (daily Ibrat ), Syed Sarmad Ali (daily Jang ), Javed Mehr Shamsi (daily Kaleem ), Aamir Mahmood, (monthly Kiran ), Syed Ayaz Badshah (daily Mashriq, Peshawar), Mohammad Ibrahim Ghauri (monthly Mystery Magazine ), Mujeeb-ur-Rehman Shami (daily Pakistan, Lahore), S.M. Munir Jillani (daily Paigham ), Khushnood Ali Khan (daily Sahafat ), Khalid Mahmood Shah (monthly Shahrag-e-Pakistan ), Riaz Ahmed Mansuri (monthly The Cricketer ), Pir Sufaid Shah Hamdard (daily Wahdat ), Hameed Haroon (ex-officio president), and Mir Javed Rahman (special observer).
Source: Business Recorder
Date:4/11/2003
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