Protest: Printing of more than a dozen newspapers in Gilgit-Baltistan suspended by owners
Gilgit: The Gilgit-Baltistan Newspapers Society (GBNS), a forum of the owners and editors of various newspapers, has indefinitely suspended printing of over a dozen dailies. Starting today, 21st of March, the newspapers will not be printed until the society’s demands for payment of government advertisement dues is met.
The newspaper society, in a press release, has said that various government departments owe the publications and media houses over 80 million rupees. “They amount is not being paid to the newspapers despite of several reminders and protests”, said the release. “A deadline had been given to the government to make the payments, but that did not happen. Therefore, the printing activities are being suspended indefinitely, starting today.”
Members of the GBNS during an extraordinary meeting today said that owners of the newspapers are not in a position to pay salaries to their staff, and many papers are getting bankrupt due to non-payment of dues.
It is pertinent to note that all the printed newspapers in Gilgit-Baltistan depend on government advertisements to generate their revenues.
