KARACHI: Several media bodies on Friday condemned the government’s unannounced restriction on advertisements to Dawn Media Group’s TV and radio outlets — imposed after curtailing ads to its flagship newspaper — and called on the authorities to immediately rescind the ban.

In a statement, the Council of Newspaper Editors (CPNE) said Dawn is among Pakistan’s most respected media outlets, and stopping the release of government ads to the group amounted to financially crippling the organisation. Attributed to CPNE’s president and secretary general, the statement recalls Dawn Media Group has been providing unbiased information since the creation of Pakistan.

The All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) also spoke out against the stoppage of government ads to Dawn Media Group outlets, saying it is ‘dismayed’. “For the last 13 months, Daily Dawn was suffering from [the] curtailment of government advertising, but now the news channel and radio [channel] owned by Dawn Media has also been subjected to denial of government advertising, which is not only unjust but also [an] attack on freedom of expression,” a press release from the body read.

The APNS noted the step has been taken to “force the media group to change its editorial policy” and opined that since these ads were paid for through the treasury, they ‘should not be used as [a] tool to strangle the dissenting voices’. “The APNS expresses its solidarity with [the] Dawn Media Group in this hour of financial stifling and urges … the federal and provincial governments to review their unconstitutional decision and restore government advertising to Dawn Media Group,” it concluded.

The Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA) slammed the ban on ads for Dawn outlets as well, saying it had always resisted “using advertising as tools to control media and free expression”.

“In an age when fake news on social media is widespread, the role of traditional media becomes even more critical,” the PBA stated. It urged the government to immediately withdraw the advertising ban “in the interest of free and responsible journalism”.

The Joint Action Co­­mmittee (JAC), comprising re­­presentatives of multiple journalist bodies, also criticised the restriction. The JAC includes office-bearers of Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists, APNS, CPNE, Association of Electronic Media Editors and News Directors and PBA.

In its statement, the JAC said the government is using official advertising as a tool to pressure media organisations. It noted that Dawn Media Group has remained the main target of this ‘undemocratic’ measure.

It said the group had faced the withdrawal of government ads for a long time due to its editorial stance and impartial reporting, and that the same restrictions are now being applied to its TV and radio platforms as well. It demanded that the government immediately restore advertising.

Published in Dawn, December 13th, 2025