Rawalpindi,(Parliament Times):Azad Jammu and Kashmir Minister for Information, Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Sardar Fahim Akhtar Rabbani chaired a high-level meeting of the formation committee of the All Kashmir Newspapers Society (AKNS). The meeting was attended by Secretary Information and IT Midhat Shehzad, Director General Information Raja Azhar Iqbal, President AKNS Sardar Zahid Tabassum, Chairman Editors Council Raja Kafil Ahmed, General Secretary AKNS Raja Amjad Khan and Assistant Nazim Information Khawaja Imran ul Haq. Addressing the meeting, Minister for Information, Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Sardar Fahim Akhtar Rabbani said that media is the fourth pillar of the state, strong and active media is the stepping stone of development of the country. Digital media has changed the concept of news. The Internet has made it easier to access information, and tracking is now easier than ever. A concrete strategy for payment of newspaper arrears will be clarified. The government will pay the arrears as soon as possible. We will formulate a policy in the future so that the problem of arrears does not arise. He said that the government would formulate an advertisement policy according to its needs and would proceed according to the required budget. He said that the problems of AKNS would be solved on priority basis. He said that the role of Kashmiri newspapers is very important at a time when Tehreek-e-Azadi Kashmir is in a critical phase. He said that the government would also increase the normal budget of advertisements so that the newspapers could be better accommodated. He said that we have no interest in personal projection and publicity. Advertisements should be given only in times of need.
On the occasion, Information Secretary Midhat Shehzad and Director General of Information briefed the Information Minister on the progress made so far in resolving the issues of AKNS and will take concrete steps to resolve the issues of newspapers. They also apprised the AKNS of the progress being made on various issues in this regard.