ISLAMABAD, Aug 18: The federal cabinet which met on Wednesday with Prime Minister Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain in the chair decided to implement the 7th Wage Board Award for newspaper employees in accordance with the existing law on the subject.

Briefing newsmen after the cabinet meeting, federal Minister for Information Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said that the cabinet discussed the wage award issue in detail and every minister took part in the discussion.

The cabinet, he said, also desired that the attorney general of Pakistan and the four advocate generals should take appropriate steps for early disposal of writ petitions and review petitions on the wage award issue.

The law ministry might have "sent today something in this regard to the law officers", said the minister. The cabinet also decided that a formula for a linkage between the implementation of the wage board award and government advertisements would be worked out keeping in view the best interests of both the newspapers industry and journalists.

The ministry of information has been directed to expedite the framing of the formula. He said a six-member sub-committee comprising two ministers and two representatives each of newspaper owners and newspaper employees will soon meet to work out ways of implementing the wage award.