Quetta, (Parliament Times) : A meeting of the Balochistan Committee of the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) was held under the chairmanship of Anwar Sajdi. In the meeting, issues of the newspaper industry in Balochistan were discussed, and various proposals were considered regarding the resolution of these issues.
In the meeting, while welcoming the increase in the annual budget of the newspaper industry, it was stated that the only newspaper industry in Balochistan is struggling for press freedom in unfavorable conditions today, which it did not face in the past. The newspaper industry is facing serious financial conditions like in the past, and the recent increase in the budget is insufficient. Therefore, the government should further increase it so that the protection of this sole industry in the province can be ensured.
In the meeting, deep concern was expressed over press advice at the government level, and it was demanded that restrictions on freedom of expression and the policy of blackout of some political parties and politicians should be reviewed.
The meeting further stated that due to the reduction in the pages of newspapers, pressure from some political parties on newspapers is increasing day by day. Political parties do not seem satisfied with their coverage, due to which they adopt the path of coercion and threats, causing employees working in newspapers to feel insecure. Therefore, there is a need for the government to take effective measures to ensure their protection.
In the meeting, concern was expressed over the non-payment of newspapers’ dues for 4 months, and it was demanded from the senior officials of the Information Department of the Balochistan government that payment of dues to newspapers should be ensured as soon as possible so that employees working in newspapers can be paid salaries along with meeting other expenses.
In the meeting, Arif Baloch of Balochistan Express, Raza ur Rehman of Century Express, Ali Raza Lehri of Asr-e-Nau, Asif Baloch of Daily Azadi, Balach Baloch of Daily Intekhab, Gulrez Khan of Daily Bakhbar, Irfan Saeed of Daily Dunya, Khalil Ahmed of Balochistan Times, Munir Ahmed Baloch of Nawa-e-Watan, Nadir Hussain Zamard of Daily Himmmat, Abdul Naeem Sadiq of Gwadar Times, and Behram Baloch of Monthly Balochia participated online.