PESHAWAR: A high-level delegation of the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, met Secretary Information Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Matiullah Khan in his office and held detailed discussions on key issues faced by regional newspapers.
The meeting focused on improving the mechanism of government advertisement payments, ensuring transparency, efficiency, and timely clearance of long-pending dues. The delegation stressed that regional newspapers are currently under severe financial pressure due to delays in payment and demanded that outstanding dues be cleared on a “bill-to-bill” basis with full transparency to avoid any ambiguity or complaints.
Secretary Information Matiullah Khan assured the delegation that the government is committed to making the payment system fully transparent. He stated that each newspaper would be paid according to its verified dues, and the process would be completed in phases. In the first phase, Rs. 40 crore will be released, while the remaining dues will be cleared in the second and final phase.
He appreciated the role of regional newspapers in highlighting public issues and serving as an effective medium of information dissemination in the province. He added that the provincial government is taking serious steps to resolve the challenges faced by the media community and that consultations will continue to further improve the system.
The delegation was led by CPNE Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Committee Chairman Tahir Farooq, and included Standing Committee members Masood Khan, Fazli Haq, Mumtaz Sadiq, and Muhammad Ishaq. The meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere, where mutual cooperation and future course of action were also agreed upon.
It is noteworthy that CPNE had filed a writ petition in the Peshawar High Court in 2022 regarding the issue, on which the court had issued clear directives to the provincial government for payment of dues.
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