KARACHI, July 29: The information adviser to the Sindh chief minister, Mr. Salahuddin Haider, has in a statement refuted the charges about dues of government advertisements made by the Sindh committee of the All Pakistan Newspapers Society.

He said it was because of the effort of the Information Department that dues of over Rs21 million held up since 1995 were cleared and further payment of liabilities outstanding for 10 years would be made in a couple of months. "Efforts made in recent months are continuing on a sustained basis to make payment to newspapers, irrespective of affiliations," the statement said.

The statement claimed that the newspapers mentioned by the APNS to whom advertisements had allegedly either been curtailed or stopped were given insertions 'as never before'.

"However, the department had to ensure that a balance is followed in the release of government ads." In the current month of July, the quantum of advertisements had fallen which was normal following presentation of the budget for the new fiscal year.

The statement stressed that the system of payment to newspapers had been streamlined to narrow down the period for clearance of dues. If despite this, the APNS still had some grievances, it was welcome to discuss a resolution of its problems, Mr Haider said.