APNS elects Sarmad Ali as new president

KARACHI: The annual meeting of the All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) General Council held on Saturday unanimously elected Sarmad Ali as president, Jamil Ather as senior vice president, Shahab Zuberi as vice president, Ms Nazafreen Saigol Lakhani as secretary general, Mohsin Bilal as joint secretary and Muhammad Awais Khushnood as finance secretary of the society.

APNS President Sarmad Ali presided over the meeting. The council unanimously approved the report of the Executive Committee for the year 2021-2022 as well as the Annual Accounts of the Society for the year 2021. The General Council attended by 151 members from across the country, formed an Election Commission headed by Dr Waqar Yousuf Azeemi with Nasir Daad Baloch and Safdar Ali Khan as members. it conducted the election of the Executive Committee for the year 2022-23, says press release issued here.

The following dailies and magazines were elected un-opposed to the Executive Committee of the APNS for the next tenure : Daily Aghaz, Daily Business Recorder, Daily Deynat, Daily Dawn, Daily Jasarat, Daily Jiddat (Khi), Daily Abtak, Daily Dunya, Daily Jang, Daily Khabrain, Daily Pakistan, Daily Tijarat, Nawa-i-Waqt, Daily Ausaf, Daily Sahafat, Daily Awam (Quetta), Daily Mashriq (Quetta), Daily Mashriq (Peshawar), Daily Wahdat, Daily Kawish, Daily Kaleem Daily Aftab (Multan), Daily Paigham, Daily Business Report, Daily City 42, Daily Pakistan Observer, Daily Halchal and Daily Sayadat. Monthly Dastak, Monthly Naey Ufaq, Monthly Centerline, Fortnightly Ibrat Magazine and Weekly Nikhar were elected on periodical seats.

Sarmad Ali announced Ms. Rameeza Majid Nizami MD Nawa-e-Waqt Group as special representative of the APNS to handle federal matters. The new executive committee elected Mrs. Zahida Abbasi of Daily Nau Sijj, Karachi on woman - publishers seat and co-opted Monthly Naya Rukh on periodical seat. They appreciated the efforts of Hameed Haroon for the reconciliation in the ranks of the newspaper industry and expressed their full confidence in his efforts. The General Council strongly condemned the use of federal government advertisements as a tool to strangulate the voice of dissent and urged upon the government to withdraw the ban imposed on certain newspapers. It also noted that the federal government has curtailed the release of advertisements to regional newspapers and periodical publications and demanded that the regional quota be observed. It also elected Dr Waqar Yousuf Azeemi and Riaz Ahmed Mansuri as member emeritus in acknowledgment of their 40 years services for the newspaper industry.

Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, extended felicitations to the APNS newly-elected office-bearers.