The Annual Meeting of the All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) General Council on Tuesday returned its top leadership unopposed while sounding a stark warning about the worsening financial health of the country’s print media industry.
At the gathering held at APNS House in Karachi, Senator Sarmad Ali was unanimously re-elected as President of the Society, alongside Nazafreen Saigol Lakhani as Senior Vice President, Shahab Zuberi as Vice President, Muhammad Athar Kazi as Secretary General, Mohsin Bilal as Joint Secretary, and Naveed Kashif as Finance Secretary. The meeting, chaired by Senator Ali, also approved the Executive Committee’s report for the year 2025–2026 and the Society’s audited accounts for 2025, signaling institutional continuity at a time of mounting challenges for newspapers across Pakistan. Yet the tone of the meeting was marked less by celebration and more by concern. In a resolution passed unanimously, the council warned that the print media sector is facing a severe financial crisis driven by ongoing geopolitical tensions and economic instability. Members noted that many newspapers are nearing collapse, with shrinking revenues and rising operational costs placing unprecedented strain on the industry. The council urged the federal government to step in with immediate relief measures.
It called for the implementation of a previously approved decision by Prime Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif to increase government advertisement rates, a move long sought by publishers to offset declining commercial advertising.
The body also pressed both federal and provincial governments to clear long-pending dues owed to newspapers, expand the volume of public sector advertisements, and allocate a dedicated share for print media within official advertising budgets. In a separate resolution, the council expressed strong dismay over what it described as the continued suspension of federal and provincial government advertisements to Dawn Media Group for the past 17 months. The council warned that the prolonged denial of advertisements has placed the organization under existential threat, calling the policy “unjust and unfair.”
The members unanimously extended solidarity with Dawn Media Group, describing the situation as one of financial strangulation and calling for its immediate resolution. The meeting, attended by 118 members from across the country, also oversaw the formation of an Election Commission led by Mumtaz Ahmed Phulpoto, with Ali Bin Younus and Nasir Dad Baloch as members.
The commission conducted elections for the Executive Committee for the 2026–2027 term, with a large number of publications elected unopposed across daily and periodical categories including Daily Pakistan Observer, Daily Aghaz, Daily Business Recorder, Daily Dawn, Daily Deyanat, Daily Jasarat, Daily Jiddat, Karachi, Daily Dunya, Daily Jang, Daily Khabrain, Daily Nawa-i-Waqt, Daily Pakistan, Lahore, Daily Tijarat, Daily Ausaf, Daily Sahafat, Daily Awam (Quetta), Daily Mashriq (Quetta), Daily Mashriq (Peshawar), Daily Wahdat, Daily Kaleem, Daily Kawish, Daily Aftab (Multan), Daily Business Report, Daily Paigham, Daily City 42, Daily Halchal, Daily Sayadat on daily seats and Monthly Dastak, Monthly Naey Ufaq, Monthly Naya Rukh, Weekly Tabeer, Monthly Centre Line, Weekly AZM and Fortnightly Ibrat Magazine elected on periodical seats. Additionally, Zahida Abbasi of Daily Nau Sijj, Karachi, was elected to the women publishers’ seat on the Executive Committee.
The newly elected committee praised the Election Commission for conducting a smooth and transparent electoral process, even as it prepared to navigate what members described as one of the most difficult periods in the history of Pakistan’s print media industry.
