ISLAMABAD, Oct 11 (APP): Senate Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting on Saturday asked the Ministry to allocate 25 per cent quota for provincial newspapers besides already allocated 25 pc quota for regional newspapers to strengthen the regional press.
The committee meeting held at the Parliament House was presided over by its Chairman Senator Liaquat Ali Bangulzai.The committee asked the ministry to reduce the advertisement quota for national press from 75 per cent to 50 per cent.The committee also recommended that advertisements related to Benazir Income Support Programme should also be given to small newspapers.
It also expressed its dissatisfaction over the performance of External Publicity Wing of the Ministry.
The committee also recommended that senior information group officials be appointed in Washington and New York as press ministers or press counsellors.
Liaquat Bangulzai said he visited Washington along with a parliamentary delegation to attend a conference on Kashmir but nobody from the Information Group officers working in the High Commission came for covering the event.
Haji Adeel said performance of the ministry officers attached with various embassies was unsatisfactory.He said that he visited Sri Lanka and Bangladesh as part of Parliamentary delegations but none of the press counsellors were seen to give coverage to the delegation’s official engagements.
Earlier briefing the committee on advertisement quota for newspapers, Principal Information Officer (PIO) Ghulam Hazoor Bajwa said under the rules all government departments are required to route their advertisements through PID.But,he added that according to existing practice, ministries and divisions not only select media on their own but also insist that their recommendations should be upheld without any amendment.He said that PID decides 25 pc quota allocated for regional media.
He said for achievement of aims and objectives of the advertisement policy,it is required to be implemented in letter and spirit.
During a presentation on External Publicity Wing,the committee was informed that press ministers,press counsellors and press attaches posted abroad organize media coverage of visits abroad by Pakistani dignitaries,arrange interactions of the President,Prime Minister and top policy makers with foreign media,facilitate visiting foreign media persons, sponsor visits of important journalists to Pakistan and facilitate Pakistani journalists official visits abroad.
During a presentation on Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC), the committee was informed that the bureau was established in 1956 to enforce newsprint control.
The bureau assesses the circulation of newspapers and periodicals on yearly basis and issues certificates enabling them to get rates for public sector advertisements on the basis of ABC figures.
The meeting was attended by Senators Haji Adeel,Col (retd) Tahir Mashhaddi,Tahira Latif, and Dr Abdul Malik.The meeting was also attended by Secretary Information and Broadcasting Akram Shaheedi and senior officials of the Information Ministry.
