JournalismPakistan.com | Published March 05, 2025 at 12:16 pm | JP Staff Report
Join our WhatsApp channelISLAMABAD—The Federal and Punjab governments have denied advertisements to Dawn newspaper since October last year, the paper said in an editorial titled 'Ad ban' on Wednesday.
However, the paper said it would not abandon principled journalism as “its duty first and foremost, is to maintain journalistic integrity.”
In its 'Islamabad Declaration', this fact was made public by the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists, saying military and civilian dispensations have deployed government ads to “promote their own ‘fake’ news’”.
According to the editorial, the ads have been denied “because of its professional and critical approach in reporting and editorials.” It regretted that the “current regime’s attempt to punish the paper has taken a different form, but its aim is the same: to apply pressure tactics to gain compliance.”
The editorial maintained that silencing criticism is no solution. “Unsurprisingly, weak rulers have always struggled to grasp this simple truth. In era after era, we have seen dictators attempt to control the press—to cajole, bribe, or browbeat newspapers and journalists into submitting to those they were meant to hold to account.”
It said from time to time, the Sindh government also “withheld its ads for arbitrary reasons.”
The paper recalled the Dawn Leaks scandal, saying the authorities had tried to obstruct fair reporting. “After the so-called ‘Dawn Leaks’, the paper’s circulation was blocked in large parts of the country, especially the cantonment areas, on the orders of certain individuals. Gen Qamar Bajwa later reportedly stated that the crisis had been created so his predecessor could secure an extension.”
اسلام آباد—ڈان اخبار نے بدھ کے روز اپنے اداریے 'اشتہاری پابندی' میں انکشاف کیا کہ وفاقی اور پنجاب حکومتوں نے گزشتہ سال اکتوبر سے اخبار کو اشتہارات دینے سے انکار کر رکھا ہے۔
تاہم، اخبار نے واضح کیا کہ وہ اصولی صحافت سے پیچھے نہیں ہٹے گا، کیونکہ "اس کا سب سے پہلا اور بنیادی فرض صحافتی دیانت کو برقرار رکھنا ہے۔"
پاکستان فیڈرل یونین آف جرنلسٹس نے اپنی 'اسلام آباد ڈیکلیریشن' میں اس حقیقت کو عام کیا، جس میں کہا گیا کہ فوجی اور سویلین حکومتوں نے سرکاری اشتہارات کو اپنی جعلی خبروں کے فروغ کے لیے استعمال کیا ہے۔
اداریے کے مطابق، ڈان کو اشتہارات سے محروم رکھنے کی وجہ اس کی "پیشہ ورانہ اور تنقیدی رپورٹنگ اور اداریے" ہیں۔ اس میں افسوس کا اظہار کیا گیا کہ "موجودہ حکومت نے اخبار کو سزا دینے کے لیے ایک مختلف حربہ اختیار کیا ہے، لیکن اس کا مقصد وہی ہے: دباؤ ڈال کر اطاعت حاصل کرنا۔"
اداریے میں مؤقف اختیار کیا گیا کہ تنقید کو دبانا کسی مسئلے کا حل نہیں۔ "حیرت کی بات نہیں کہ کمزور حکمران ہمیشہ اس سادہ حقیقت کو سمجھنے میں ناکام رہے ہیں۔ ہر دور میں، ہم نے آمروں کو پریس کو قابو میں کرنے کی کوشش کرتے دیکھا ہے—اخبارات اور صحافیوں کو خوش کرنا، رشوت دینا، یا دھمکانا تاکہ وہ ان کا محاسبہ نہ کریں۔"
اخبار نے مزید کہا کہ سندھ حکومت بھی وقتاً فوقتاً "من مانی وجوہات" پر اشتہارات روک چکی ہے۔
ڈان نے 'ڈان لیکس' اسکینڈل کو یاد کرتے ہوئے کہا کہ حکام نے منصفانہ رپورٹنگ میں رکاوٹ ڈالنے کی کوشش کی۔ "نام نہاد 'ڈان لیکس' کے بعد، ملک کے بڑے حصوں، خاص طور پر چھاؤنی کے علاقوں میں، اخبار کی ترسیل مخصوص افراد کے حکم پر روک دی گئی۔ بعد میں، اطلاعات کے مطابق، جنرل قمر باجوہ نے کہا تھا کہ یہ بحران اس لیے پیدا کیا گیا تاکہ ان کے پیشرو کو توسیع مل سکے۔"
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