PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has decided to exempt newspaper advertisements from a five per cent tax levied by the Revenue Authority.

According to a statement, the chief minister directed the provincial information ministry to amend the KP Newspapers, News Agencies and Book Registration Act 2013 upon a request by the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors and the All Pakistan Newspapers Society.

Chairing a meeting on issues related to the media industry on Thursday, KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan said projection of “people-friendly policies” by the media was needed not only to raise awareness among the masses but also to strengthen the state-citizen relationship.

“Every effort should be made to make the information department as efficient as possible so as to keep pace with emerging challenges in the media industry,” the chief minister said. He asked the chief secretary to provide adequate space to accommodate the KP directorate general of information after Information Minister Shaukat Yousafzai told him that the department was currently housed in a small area.

The chief minister ordered the housing department to carry out a feasibility study for allocation of land to establish housing colonies for journalists along Peshawar’s Kohat Road and in Swat’s Babuzai area.

Published in Dawn, August 23rd, 2019