Grant government advertising to media without regard for editorial stances, CPJ requests Pakistan

New York based non-profit group Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on Tuesday called on government authorities in Pakistan to grant advertisements to independent news outlets like Jang Media Group and Dawn without regard for their editorial positions.

In a statement issued on their website, the CPJ decried the unannounced ban that the federal and provincial governments have placed on placing government advertisements with independent media groups that run large newspaper and television networks in the country. 

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“The Pakistani government’s selective ban on placing advertisements with Jang and Dawn, two prominent and independent news organizations, amounts to a crude form of retaliation,” said Steven Butler, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator. 

“Using government advertising as a cudgel to punish and reward news outlets based on their editorial stance in this way is incompatible with Pakistan’s constitutional guarantee of press freedom and must come to an end immediately," he added. 

Last week, the All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) had strongly flayed the continued ban on advertisements of the federal as well as the Punjab and KPK governments to the Jang Group and Dawn and termed this as the contravention of freedom of press, The News reported. 

The Executive Committee of the APNS, at its meeting held on February 27, 2020 at Islamabad, adopted a unanimous resolution strongly condemning the policy of Federal and provincial governments of Punjab and KPK to deny the release of their advertisements to two of the country’s major media houses namely Dawn Group and Jang Group.

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The resolution stated that the Executive Committee was of the considered opinion that the ban on the two media groups was not only intended to curb the freedom of press and use of advertisements as a lever to influence the editorial policy of newspapers but also aimed at silencing any dissenting voice in the press.

The resolution further stated that the Executive Committee of the APNS completely stands by Dawn and Jang media groups and urges upon the federal and provincial governments to immediately review their policy and restore the release of advertisements to these publications.