KARACHI – The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS), held on March 31, 2026 at APNS House, unanimously re-elected Senator Sarmad Ali as President along with other office-bearers for the new term.
Nazafreen Saigol Lakhani was elected 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.
Chaired by Sarmad Ali, the council approved the Executive Committee’s report for 2025-26 and the annual accounts for 2025.
In a resolution, the AGM expressed serious concern over the worsening condition of the print media industry due to the current geopolitical and economic situation, stating that many newspapers are facing severe financial crises and risk closure. The council urged the federal government to increase advertisement rates, as approved during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s previous tenure, and called on both federal and provincial governments to clear outstanding dues and allocate a dedicated share for print media in advertising budgets.
The council also criticized the continued suspension of government advertisements to Dawn Media for the past 17 months, terming it unjust and expressing full solidarity with the group.
The meeting, attended by 118 members nationwide, formed an Election Commission led by Mumtaz Ahmed Phulpoto, which conducted elections for the Executive Committee for 2026-27.
Several newspapers and magazines, including Daily Dawn, Daily Jang, Daily Nawa-i-Waqt, Daily Dunya, and others, were elected unopposed to the Executive Committee. Zahida Abbasi of Daily Nau Sijj was elected to the women publishers’ seat.
The newly elected committee appreciated the Election Commission for successfully conducting the process.
