ISLAMABAD, March 16: The All Pakistan Newspapers Society has strongly condemned the ban on government advertisements to the Nawa-i-Waqt group of publications and formed an action committee to chalk out a future course of action for restoration of advertisements and to ensure their equitable and judicious flow to genuine publications.

In a resolution, the APNS has criticized the coercive policy of the government against the press and the practice of using advertisements as a means of restricting freedom of the press.

The resolution was adopted at a meeting of the executive committee held in Islamabad on Tuesday under the chairmanship of APNS president Arif Nizami. The committee, according to a press release, noted that the government of Gen Pervez Musharraf, despite tall claims of freeing the press, had embarked upon a policy to stifle and curb freedom of expression and the press in an effort to silent dissenting voices.

The press as a watchdog of the interests of the people and as a vehicle to disseminate news and views at variance with official views had always been the first target of the anti-democratic policies of a government.

The action committee set up at the meeting would consider and finalize a course of action including a one-day strike of publications, an advertisement campaign to educate public opinion on the policies of the government, a march by editors and publishers from the APNS secretariat to the Mazar-i-Quaid-i-Azam and other appropriate measures in this regard.

The executive committee also adopted the annual report and the accounts of the APNS for the preceding year and decided to hold the annual general council on March 31 in Karachi when elections of the executive committee and office-bearers for the year 2004-2005 will be held.

It was also decided to convene an extraordinary general council meeting on March 31 to consider proposals to amend the APNS constitution. The executive committee granted full membership to daily Din, Rawalpindi; daily Ummat, Karachi; The Statesman, Peshawar; and the monthly Dastak of Karachi.