Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar on Thursday said the government was making efforts to clear remaining outstanding liabilities owed to private television channels to help them ensure timely payment of salaries to media employees.
Responding to questions during the National Assembly’s Question Hour, the minister acknowledged that the federal government still owed substantial amounts to private media outlets, outstanding liabilities that were being settled gradually.
Attaullah Tarar said the issue of pending payments to media houses would also come under discussion at a meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) scheduled for tomorrow.
“We are working to clear these liabilities. It has become a regular practice that media organizations request the release of payments before Eid so that they can pay salaries to their employees and meet other financial obligations,” he said.
The minister said a dedicated cell within the Press Information Department (PID) monitored the status of pending dues and coordinated with media organizations to facilitate the timely release of payments.
He added that the department maintained regular communication with television channels to determine the amount of outstanding dues and assess salary-related requirements.
“There has been considerable improvement in this regard, and my effort will be to release another tranche of payments within the next week before the end of the current financial year so that financial pressure on media organizations can be reduced and salaries can be paid on time,” he told the House.
Reiterating the government’s commitment to supporting the media industry and safeguarding the welfare of media workers, the minister said the electronic media sector was currently under severe financial pressure, facing delayed payments and declining revenues.
He said several television channels had either shut down or downsized their operations, including layoffs and administrative cutbacks due to financial constraints.
Tarar informed the House that government advertising rates for television channels were currently determined according to their respective categories.
He said that during the tenure of former information minister Fawad Chaudhry, advertisement rates were reduced from around Rs300,000 per minute to nearly half, bringing them to about Rs150,000 to Rs175,000 per minute for different tiers of channels under a cost-reduction policy.
The minister said electronic media continued to operate under a regulatory framework and code of conduct, ensuring accountable journalism and balanced coverage of government and opposition viewpoints.
He noted that government advertising was used for public awareness campaigns, including polio eradication, climate change awareness and digital initiatives, and played an important role in outreach.
He informed the House that around Rs8 billion had been spent over the past two to two-and-a-half years on advertising campaigns across ministries and institutions.
Tarar said concerns had been raised by media stakeholders that the amount was insufficient in view of rising operational costs and shrinking advertising space.
He said advertisements were distributed in consultation with the Pakistan Broadcasters Association and allocated according to channel ratings and categories.
The minister added that media organizations complied with regulations of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), besides fulfilling their tax obligations.
He noted that while some media houses were struggling to pay staff salaries on time, others had managed to clear dues and retain employees.
Calling for a coordinated policy to support media workers, Tarar proposed a financial assistance mechanism for employees and their families.
He said he would take up the matter with the Pakistan Broadcasters Association and consult stakeholders across the political spectrum to build consensus on protecting media workers.
Responding to a supplementary question by MNA Shazia Marri, the minister appreciated efforts aimed at highlighting journalists’ welfare and said both federal and provincial governments should seriously address the issue of financial security for media workers.
He further observed that there was a disparity in the media business model, noting that high-earning anchorpersons were linked to advertising revenue, while low-paid staff such as reporters and production workers remained more vulnerable to financial shocks.