Govt to act against media organisations over layoffs, salary cuts; ad policy linked to workers' welfare: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar on Wednesday announced a series of measures aimed at protecting media workers, strengthening mainstream media and reforming the government's advertising policy, warning that media organisations resorting to layoffs, salary cuts or non-payment of wages could face suspension of official advertisements or a downward revision of their advertisement rates

ISLAMABAD, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th Jul, 2026) Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar on Wednesday announced a series of measures aimed at protecting media workers, strengthening mainstream media and reforming the government's advertising policy, warning that media organisations resorting to layoffs, salary cuts or non-payment of wages could face suspension of official advertisements or a downward revision of their advertisement rates.

Responding to the Senate Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting, chaired by Senator Sarmad Ali, the minister said the government's foremost priority was the welfare of media employees and ensuring that public funds released to media organisations translated into benefits for journalists and other workers.

"We want government advertisement payments to translate into employees' welfare," he said, adding that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had already developed a mechanism with the Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA) under which media organisations were expected to clear employees' outstanding salaries whenever the government released pending dues.

Citing an example, Tarar said the government had suspended advertisements to Suno News after it laid off employees, adding that several workers were reinstated following discussions with the channel's management.

"If any newspaper or television channel lays off employees, cuts salaries or fails to pay wages, we have the authority to revise its advertisement rates downward and stop official advertisements in accordance with the law," he said.

The minister said existing legal provisions already allowed employees to file complaints regarding non-payment of salaries, adding that such complaints were regularly received and processed.

He informed the committee that the government had revised its Advertisement Policy in 2024 and introduced comprehensive guidelines and procedures to ensure transparent distribution of government advertisements.

He said electronic media received the largest share of government advertising, followed by print and digital media, while only a limited portion of official advertisements was placed on social media platforms.

Tarar said the government's digital advertising policy, originally introduced in 2021 and amended in 2022, had created a transparent framework for digital advertising and had subsequently been adopted by several provincial governments.

He said the policy incorporated Google Analytics, web traffic statistics, serving reports and an independent third-party verification mechanism to authenticate views and other digital performance indicators.

The minister said digital media was a self-sustaining platform that generally did not require financial support and stressed that the government purchased advertising only according to its communication requirements.

At the same time, he cautioned against strengthening digital media at the expense of newspapers and television.

"Social media is ultimately fed by newspapers and television channels," he said, observing that people of all age groups consumed social media content that largely originated from mainstream media.

He said newspapers should enjoy the first right over digital support and announced that under the Advertisement Policy 2024 the government would expand the inclusion of newspapers' digital platforms.

"The digital media cannot be promoted at the cost of print and electronic media," he said, reiterating that credible mainstream media remained indispensable in countering misinformation and fake news.

Senator Sarmad Ali also observed that the importance of print media could not be ignored and stressed the need to strengthen newspapers and improve the government's media list.

He said mainstream media should be supported to effectively counter fake news and disinformation circulating on social media.

The minister announced that all issues relating to the appointment of the chairman of the Implementation Tribunal for Newspaper Employees (ITNE) had been resolved and the notification would be issued shortly after completion of a transparent, merit-based selection process.

He also proposed making registration of media employees with the Employees' Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) and provincial social security institutions mandatory.

Tarar further directed officials to prepare within one week a proposal for compulsory life insurance for employees of print and electronic media organisations, with the federal government contributing towards insurance premiums.

He also proposed introducing a compensation package for families of deceased media employees.

Senator Sarmad Ali observed that it was primarily the responsibility of media organisations to compensate families of employees who died on duty, while Senator Waqar Mehdi supported the proposal and suggested that the committee recommend a fixed compensation amount.

The committee expressed serious concern over the growing trend of downsizing in the media industry and recommended withholding government advertisements and revising advertisement rates for media organisations that failed to pay employees' salaries on time. It also recommended mandatory registration of all media organisations with EOBI and making life insurance compulsory for media workers.

The minister sought proposals from the relevant department regarding the life insurance scheme and assured the committee that the government would also consider contributing to such a fund.

The committee was also briefed by Information Secretary Ashfaq Ahmed Khalil on the role and functioning of the National Press Trust (NPT).

The minister directed officials to obtain complete details of the Trust's assets, finances and audit reports while examining legal options for utilising its resources for the welfare of media workers.

Acknowledging concerns regarding regional newspapers, particularly those published from Balochistan and other provinces, Tarar directed the Press Information Department (PID) to constitute a subcommittee to identify genuine regional publications and submit a report on their circulation.

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He also hinted that the government was considering merging the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) with the Office of the Press Registrar to establish a modern institution.

He said reforms had already been initiated through a dedicated committee to modernise the ABC system, enhance transparency and align it with contemporary media requirements.

Senator Jan Mohammad highlighted the issues faced by regional newspapers, especially those from Balochistan, and stressed their importance in projecting the national narrative. The committee directed the ministry to formulate a comprehensive policy for the promotion and protection of regional newspapers.

The committee also expressed concern over discrepancies in data previously presented by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) regarding social media accounts after the agency reportedly disowned figures shared by its officials before a subcommittee.

Senator Sarmad Ali directed NCCIA to submit verified and updated figures clarifying whether the previously presented data was authentic.

The committee also took notice of reports that NCCIA had issued notices to certain newspapers and their columnists.

Members observed that such actions did not fall within the agency's legal mandate and could amount to harassment of newspapers and journalists.

Senator Sarmad Ali directed NCCIA to ensure that no action was taken against newspapers or their websites as they did not fall within the agency's jurisdiction.

Senator Waqar Mehdi recalled that NCCIA officials had earlier assured the committee that no FIRs under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) would be registered by provincial police and that such cases would instead be transferred to NCCIA. The committee directed the agency to submit a comprehensive report on cases transferred by the provinces.

The committee also discussed certification of the recently released film "Buleha."

Senator Pervaiz Rashid, who participated via video link, said a film depicting violence and criminality should not have been released under the name of the revered Sufi saint Bulleh Shah and called for determining how such a title had been approved.

As the minister said he was not in a position to respond, the committee decided to summon all members of the Central Board of Film Censors along with the film's producer at its next meeting to explain the approval process. It also directed the ministry to provide minutes of the censor board meeting in which the film was approved.

Highlighting reforms in Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV), Tarar said the state broadcaster had become financially stable for the first time.

He said ptv sports was currently the only television channel in Pakistan broadcasting the FIFA World Cup 2026, reflecting the organisation's improved financial and professional capacity.

The minister informed the committee that around 216 employees were currently serving in PTV on contractual terms across different centres.

He said contractual recruitment was carried out strictly according to operational requirements to protect the corporation from future pension liabilities, while experienced anchors from private television channels had also been recruited on merit to improve programming quality and contribute positively to ratings and viewership.

Responding to concerns regarding disclosure of anchors' salaries, Tarar said private media organisations also did not disclose such information because of privacy considerations. However, he offered to share details with the committee during an in-camera meeting if required.

He said PTV's Board of Directors was fully empowered and all major decisions were taken with its approval, adding that distinguished professionals from the private sector had also been included on the board.

Tarar further stated that PTV had maintained timely payment of salaries throughout the past year and that no employee had faced delays in salary disbursement.

Information Secretary Ashfaq Ahmed Khalil informed the committee that during the previous financial year neither salaries nor pensions at PTV had been delayed.

He said the corporation had reduced expenditures to ensure timely payments to around 300 retired employees, particularly widows.

The secretary also informed the committee that PTV planned to resume programme production during the current year and that measures were being taken to generate additional revenue from properties owned by PTV and Radio Pakistan.

Senator Waqar Mehdi recommended revision of rental rates for Radio Pakistan's office building in Karachi, noting that eight of its 17 floors were lying vacant.

The committee was informed that tenders for revision of rental rates had recently been issued and directed Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation to submit a viable utilisation plan for the vacant space.

The committee also proposed commercial utilisation of vacant portions of PTV buildings to generate additional revenue and emphasised revival of drama production at PTV.

The committee discussed issues relating to residents of PTV Colony, Islamabad, and recommended that their concerns be addressed on a priority basis. It advised the residents to meet the Chairman of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) along with other stakeholders, while directing the CDA representative to record the proceedings and submit minutes of the meeting to the committee.

The committee also sought reports on steps taken to resolve pension-related issues of employees of the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) and Radio Pakistan, while noting that Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation had received the highest allocation for salaries and pensions during the previous financial year.

The meeting, among others, was attended by Senators Abdul Shakoor Khan, Jan Mohammad and Chairperson of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), the Principal Information Officer (PIO), senior officials of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and other departments concerned.