As technology reshapes the media landscape in Pakistan, the rise of digital journalism has brought round-the-clock news to smartphones, shrinking the space once dominated by print newspapers. While the transformation has modernized news consumption, it has also dealt a severe blow to thousands of newspaper hawkers across the country.
Once a vital part of the morning routine, these vendors now face dwindling sales, unstable incomes and uncertain futures. With print circulation declining steadily, especially in major cities like Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad, the traditional hawker is becoming an endangered figure in Pakistan’s rapidly digitizing media ecosystem.
According to the March 2025 report of the Pakistan Telecom Authority (PTA), there were 197 million mobile cellular subscribers, with a teledensity of 80.3%, while 143 million are mobile broadband subscribers with 58.31% mobile broadband penetration and 147 million broadband subscribers with 59.83% broadband penetration, which showed that there was easy access to information, including news.
In view of the broader context, which highlighted the low print paper demand, some of the hawkers are still attached to this job, but most have left this profession and adjusted themselves to another one for their daily earnings.
Additionally, some who have small stalls of newspapers are also selling other daily-use items, including mobile call packages and others besides newspapers.
Waqas Abbasi, who has been selling the newspaper for the last 30 years, has multiple items on his stall besides newspaper sales. He also distributes the newspapers in homes.
As his stall is located at the main avenue of G-9, Peshawar More, which is also surrounded by many student hostels, mainly preparing the competitive exams.
According to Waqar, the sale of newspapers was comparatively low, including the circulations at home, but a number of students residing around came here and bought newspapers for seeking help in their studies.
Another hawker, Ayaz Abbasi, who circulated newspaper copies in sector I-10, also remarked, “There was a time I sold more than 500 papers daily, but now it’s barely 100.”
He also shared the current situation of people still associated with this profession, saying, only three to four hawkers are left in the I-10 area due to lower demand, compared to the past, when 10 to 15 hawkers were not enough to meet the daily demand,” he said.
Due to lower demand for newspapers, which affected their daily income, most of the hawkers faced family pressure to find another source of income.
“It’s been over 36 years since I started delivering the newspaper,” Abbasi said, adding that his family members are pressuring him to switch professions due to the low income left, but at this age, it is difficult for me to do other jobs.
Globally, newspapers are also witnessing a consistent drop in print subscriptions, particularly among the younger demographic, who prefer instant news access through social media and news apps.
The transition of the technology revolution in the media industry has sidelined thousands of hawkers who lack the skills or resources to shift to new roles.
Unless proactive measures are taken—such as digital training programs, alternative employment schemes or financial aid—these once-essential workers risk being completely left behind in the new media landscape.