(PPF/IFEX) – The Pakistani government’s Ministry of Information has effectively banned the publication of all official advertisements in the independent, Urdu-language daily “Jinnah”, which began publishing in the capital, Islamabad, on 22 October 2003. The newspaper believes that the step was taken in retaliation for its independent editorial policy. Government advertisements constitute a vital source […]
(PPF/IFEX) – The Pakistani government’s Ministry of Information has effectively banned the publication of all official advertisements in the independent, Urdu-language daily “Jinnah”, which began publishing in the capital, Islamabad, on 22 October 2003. The newspaper believes that the step was taken in retaliation for its independent editorial policy. Government advertisements constitute a vital source of revenue for newspapers, and successive governments, including the present one, have pledged not to use advertisements as a tool to punish or reward media outlets.
The circulation figures of publications are audited by the official Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC). Publications are then issued ABC certificates and placed on the Central Media List. “Jinnah” went through this process and was placed on the Central Media List on 6 December. However, on 9 July 2004, the daily was abruptly removed from the Central Media List, depriving it of access to official advertisements.
The newspaper’s editor, Wadood Qureshi, said the action is a clear violation of established norms and practices, under which the government should allocate advertisements to publications according to their circulation as determined by the ABC audit, irrespective of their editorial policy. Qureshi said the government action may lead to the daily’s closure as no newspaper can survive without official advertisements. He said closure of the daily will result in a loss of livelihood for about 600 employees.
The president of the All Pakistan Newspaper Society (APNS), Arif Nizami, strongly protested the government action. In a letter to the information secretary, he said using advertisements as a weapon to influence editorial policy is a negation of press freedom as guaranteed by Article 19 of the Pakistani Constitution. Nizami said a publication’s deletion from the Central Media List while the publication has been issued an up-to-date ABC certificate is unprecedented.
