WASHINGTON, March 30: The International Press Institute, the global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in over 120 countries, has expressed serious concerns about the pressure exerted by the Pakistan government on the Dawn Group of Newspapers, the country’s largest publisher of English-language newspapers and magazines.

Another international media organisation, Reporters Sans Frontieres, has expressed similar concerns, urging the government to abandon its efforts to stifle those who criticise its policies.

In a letter to President Pervez Musharraf, the IPI urged the president to ensure that the government withdrew the advertising cuts on publications belonging to the Dawn Group and looked at ways of creating procedures that ensure advertisements were distributed in an open and transparent manner.

In a separate letter, distributed by its offices across the world, Reporters Sans Frontieres disputed the government’s claim that Pakistan had become a free media model in South Asia.

The letter reminds the information minister that before introducing this punitive policy, the federal government used the services of the Sindh government to try to tone down Dawn’s reporting.

The letter said: “If you would really like Pakistan to become a model, the first thing you should do is put a stop to the harassment of the Dawn group.”