In the annual elections of the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) for 2024-25, Arshad Ahmad Aarif (Daily 92 News Lahore) was elected unopposed as President, while Ijaz-ul-Haq (Daily Express Karachi) was elected as the General Secretary. According to details, Anwar Sajjadi (Daily Intikhab Karachi) was elected as Senior Vice President, Aamir Mahmood (Karn Group Karachi) as Vice President Sindh, Babar Nazami (Daily Pakistan Today Lahore) as Vice President Punjab, Tahir Farooq (Daily Ittehad Peshawar) as Vice President KPK, Yahya Khan Sadduzai (Daily Lead Pakistan Islamabad) as Vice President Islamabad, and Munir Baloch (Daily Nawaye Watan Quetta) as Vice President Balochistan.
Ghulam Nabi Chandio (Daily Pak Karachi) was elected as Deputy Secretary General, Syed Hameed Hussain Abidi (Daily Aman Karachi) as Finance Secretary, and Zia Tanoli (Daily Final News Lahore) as Information Secretary. Rafe Niazi was elected as Joint Secretary (Islamabad), Waqas Tariq Farooq as Joint Secretary (Punjab), Manzah Saham as Joint Secretary (Sindh), Mumtaz Ahmed Sadiq as Joint Secretary (KP), Arif Baloch as Joint Secretary (Balochistan).
Dr. Jabbar Khattak, Maqsood Yusufi, Qazi Asad Abid, Akram Sehgal, Muhammad Ovais Razi, Muhammad Islam Mian, Sher Muhammad Khawar, Abdul Khaliq Ali, Ahmad Shafiq, Zulfiqar Raht, Shehzad Amin, Sardar Mohammad Siraj, Kazim Khan, Adnan Zafar, Ayyaz Ali Memon, Faqir Minthar Mangrio, Abdul Rahman Mangrio, Muhammad Akmal Chohan, Tanveer Shaukat, Dr. Zubair Mahmood, Fazl Haq, Tazeen Akhtar, Shakil Tarabi, Atizaz Hussain Shah, Ali Ahmed Dholon, Mahmood Alam Khalid, Ali Hamza Afghan and Syed Intezar Hussain Zanjani were elected as members of the Standing Committee.
The newly elected President of CPNE, Arshad Ahmad Aarif, thanked the members of CPNE for his election, stating that the government is not ready to hear critical voices like in the past. He cited the recent example of the Punjab government’s controversial dignity bill and electronic crimes act.
He stated that making such laws is synonymous with putting new restrictions on press freedom, and no law will be accepted without consulting stakeholders. The situation is worsening day by day, and those in power want the media to echo their views, but we will continue to actively promote the freedom of press and expression for our colleagues in this difficult journey.
The newly elected Vice President said that we will continue to face the challenges in handling the situation competently. In the end, he thanked all the members of CPNE.
Meanwhile, the President of the country, Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah, and others have congratulated the newly elected members of CPNE.
The President congratulated the newly elected officials, expressing good wishes and hoping that the new officials will fulfill their role in promoting responsible journalism in the country. The newly elected members of the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors should strive for the promotion of democracy in the country.
He added that he hopes that the new elected officials will make efforts for the advancement of the newspapers and journalism sector in the country, while positively contributing to the promotion of democratic values and ethics in the c