KARACHI: The Standing Committee of the Pakistan Newspaper Editors’ Conference has held a series of discussions regarding the organisation of a National News Agency for Pakistan and has decided to constitute a Trust for the purpose to be known as the News Trust of Pakistan. The Committee also set up a Negotiating and Drafting Sub-Committee to carry out negotiations with Reuters Ltd and the Government of Pakistan regarding the implementation of the scheme as well as to collect the necessary funds. The members of the Standing Committee met Khwaja Shahabuddin, Minister of the Interior, Information and Broadcasting, in a deputation on Monday [Sept 27] to discuss the scheme… . The following members of the Standing Committee were present:-

Mr Faiz Ahmad Faiz (Pakistan Times, La­hore), Mr Hamid Nizami (Nawai Waqt, Lahore), Mr Robert Cochran (Daily Gazette, Karachi), Mr G.H. Thaver (Vatan, Karachi), Mr Omar Farooqi (Anjam, Karachi), Mr Kha­lilur Rahman (Jung, Karachi), Malik Tajuddin (General Manager of Reuters and API in Pak­istan) and Mr Altaf Husain (Dawn, Karachi).

[Meanwhile, according to news reports from Paris,] Sir Mohammed Zafrullah Khan, Foreign Minister of Pakistan, asked the United Nations today [Sept 27] to establish their own system of observers in Hyderabad [Deccan].

Published in Dawn, September 28th, 2023