KARACHI: The Annual Meeting of the All Pakistan Newspapers Society General Council was held on March 31, 2026, at APNS House, Karachi, where members unanimously re-elected the leadership for the upcoming term.
Senator Sarmad Ali was re-elected as President, 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.
Under the chairmanship of Senator Sarmad Ali, the Council approved the Executive Committee report for 2025–2026 and the Society’s annual accounts for the year 2025.
During the AGM, members expressed deep concern over the deteriorating state of print media amid ongoing geopolitical and economic challenges, which have led to severe financial stress for newspapers, many of which are on the brink of closure.
The Council urged the Federal Government to implement the previously approved decision by Mian Shahbaz Sharif to increase government advertisement rates.
Additionally, the Council called for the settlement of long-outstanding dues, an increase in advertisement allocations, and a dedicated share for print media in the advertising budget to ensure the survival of the industry.
The General Council, attended by 118 members from across Pakistan, formed an Election Commission headed by Mumtaz Ahmed Phulpoto, with Ali Bin Younus and Nasir Dad Baloch as members, to conduct elections for the Executive Committee for 2026–27.
The following dailies and periodicals were elected unopposed to the Executive Committee:
Daily Newspapers: 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 Pakistan Observer, Daily Halchal, Daily Sayadat.
Periodicals: Monthly Dastak, Monthly Naey Ufaq, Monthly Naya Rukh, Weekly Tabeer, Monthly Centre Line, Weekly AZM, Fortnightly Ibrat Magazine.
Mrs. Zahida Abbasi of Daily Nau Sijj, Karachi was elected to the women-publishers seat.
The newly elected Executive Committee expressed appreciation for the Election Commission’s efficient conduct of the elections and committed to addressing the challenges facing Pakistan’s print media industry.
