Islamabad, (Parliament Times) : An emergency meeting of the Executive/Governing Body of the Rawalpindi/Islamabad Bureau Journalists Association was held , in which representatives of Balochistan newspapers present in Islamabad also participated.
The participants of the meeting strongly condemned the ban on regional/local newspapers in Balochistan, and announced their support for the Balochistan Newspaper Industry Action Committee.
President Sardar Shahid, General Secretary Syed Asif Ali Hamdani, Finance Secretary Haji Aziz, Secretary Information Faiza Shah Kazmi, Senior Member of the Governing Body Qurban Satti and others said in a statement issued after the meeting that the government should immediately withdraw the draft to publish government advertisements through BPPRA, as print media is the backbone of democracy.The importance of local newspapers cannot be overstated. The livelihood of thousands of families is dependent on them. The Balochistan government should take the initiative and stop the economic murder of the local newspaper industry, because at the local level, newspapers are playing an important role in highlighting public and provincial issues and identifying irregularities within government and non-government institutions.Therefore, the old system should be restored and thousands of families should be rescued from the economic crisis. Government advertisements should be distributed according to the previous method. Separate funds should be allocated for digital media in Balochistan on a federal basis. RIBJA expresses solidarity with the current Balochistan Newspaper Action Committee.
