KARACHI, April 10: The Sindh High Court issued notice to the deputy attorney-general on Tuesday in a petition moved by the Pakistan Herald Publications Limited against curtailment of advertisements to the daily Dawn by the federal government.

The petitioner said the newspaper’s circulation and readership entitled it to official advertisements but the federal government had drastically curtailed the publication of notices, proclamations, awareness campaigns, etc. since December 2006 to punish it for carrying ‘unfavourable’ reports and articles.

The placement of advertisements, which are paid from public funds, is in most cases mandated by law and it is exercise of a public function to be performed without discrimination.

Advertisements are distributed in accordance with rational criteria based on circulation, places of distribution, the language of publication and the targeted population.

The criteria leave little room for arbitrariness.

The petitioner said the withholding of advertisements from Dawn is an attempt to obstruct it from exercising its fundamental right of freedom of press guaranteed by Article 19 of the Constitution.

Instructions have been issued to various government departments to divert to other newspapers the advertisements specifically intended for the daily.

The government action is, therefore, also repugnant to Article 25 of the Constitution. It requested the court to direct the government to restore the quantum of advertisements to the newspaper in accordance with the criteria.

The petition came up before a division bench comprising Justices Sarmad Jalal Osmany and Ali Sain Dino Metlo.

After briefly hearing the petitioner’s counsel, Adnan Chaudhry, the bench ordered that a notice be issued to the deputy attorney-general for April 17.