Finance minister assures to address APNS demands

KARACHI: The Federal Finance Minister, Asad Umar, has assured the APNS office bearers and the members of the Executive Committee that the government is fully cognizant of the issues and problems of the print industry.

The finance minister said it is the government’s responsibility to help media to brave the financial crises. Asad Umar was talking at a dinner hosted by the Federal Information Minister, Fawad Chaudhary for the APNS Executive Committee. The finance minister said the negotiations with the IMF have not broken and are still underway and the government is not wasting any time in engaging the IMF. He further said there is almost a consensus among the the Economic Advisory team that seeking the IMF package is a reasonable option for Pakistan to stabilize its economy and currency in the short term.

Expressing optimism about the long term growth prospects of Pakistan’s economy, Umar said a number of foreign investors have shown keen interest in investing in certain high growth sectors. Umar said the steps being taken by the government will usher in an era of growth and will greatly benefit the export related industries.

The APNS President, Hameed Haroon, Vice President, Mehtab Khan, Secretary General, Sarmad Ali, Mujib-ur-Rehman Shami, Rameeza Majid Nizami, Umer Mujib Shami, Shahab Zuberi, Jamil Ather, Mumtaz Tahir and other members of the Executive Committee apprised the finance minister of the problems faced by the industry. The finance minister said the notification for withdrawal of five per cent customs duty in line with announcement of Prime Minister Imran Khan will be issued shortly. He also said the finance ministry is ready to work with the APNS and the Information Ministry to look at the issues of withholding tax and tax refund being faced by the newspapers and help find amicable solution. He also assured that the finance ministry will instantly clear the outstanding dues of the government advertisement after verification from the information ministry. The Chairman PEMRA Muhammad Saleem , Chairman PTV Muhammad Arshad Khan, Chairman BOI Haroon Sharif, Federal Information Secretary Shafqat Jalil and PIO Mian Jahangir were also present at the dinner.