ISLAMABAD: The Senate Stan­ding Committee on Information and Broadcasting on Friday called for stricter accountability in the allocation of state advertising.

Chairman of the Committee Senator Sarmad Ali suggested that government advertisements for media organisations not registered with the EOBI should be stopped. The committee decided to seek an in-depth briefing from EOBI on the matter in its upcoming meeting.

During discussion on the state of the media sector, Chairman of Committee Senator Sarmad Ali stressed the need for immediate support to strengthen the industry in the larger public interest. He said, “financial support in the shape of advertising should be provided to the mainstream media industry to combat fake news”. The committee members noted the National Press Trust purpose ceased to exist after the privatisation of its newspapers.

Chairman of the committee while questioning the continuation of the Trust in its present form, remarked that the purpose of the Trust needs to be revisited. He directed that details regarding the National Press Trust’s property and funds should be presented in the next meeting.

Suggestion made to stop govt advertisements for media organisations not registered with EOBI

The committee decided to seek views of the law ministry on amending the NPT deed in line with changed ground realities and for the welfare of the media workers. It also decided to visit Karachi to ins­pect buildings of the NPT, PTV and Radio Pakistan to review plans for their effective utilisation.

On the issue of welfare of media workers, the committee was informed that health insurance for journalists and media workers has been revived, while provision of life insurance is also being considered.

The committee considered the Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2025, introduced by Senator Muhammad Abdul Qadir in the Senate sitting held on Dec 1, 2025.

The proposed legislation seeks to amend the composition of the Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation Board by providing representation to parliamentarians, including one member from the Senate to be nominated by the Chairman of Senate and one member from the National Assembly to be nominated by the Speaker of the National Assembly.

After detailed discussion, the Committee voted on the bill and apart from Senator Pervaiz Rashid all other members present voted in favour of the Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2025, and accordingly it was passed by the committee.

Published in Dawn, September 19th, 2026