Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has favourably taken the demands of the All-Pakistan Newspapers Society, including their demand that rates of the official publicity material or advertisement be increased. That is a good sign on behalf of the government meaning thereby that it is willingly adjusting with the hard-earned freedom for expression for which the Pakistani media paid very heavily in the form of journalists who became fatal target of violence and target killing. The last addition to this list is of the Karachi-based reporter of a private TV channel on Thursday.

Perhaps there is no one member of the APNS who publishes Punjabi/Seraiki newspaper, therefore, their case usually goes unnoticed. For instance, the federal as well as provincial governments have never taken Punjabi papers concern about the government advertisements. They are to very extent deprived of government publicity.

The first responsibility in that respect is that of the provincial government which still looks hostile to the cause of promotion of Punjabi language and literature and still denying the basic right of the children of Punjab province to be educated in their mother tongue. The former Punjab government headed by chief minister Pervaiz Elahi was little bit sympathetic to the cause apart from the establishment of Punjab Institute of Language, Art and Culture (PILAC), it decided that at least five per cent of the provincial official paid publicity would be given to Punjabi newspapers and magazines fulfilling necessary conditions laid down by the government. It was certainly a good decision but all the big shots in print media deal in Urdu and English. Therefore, they took it as a challenge to their vested interests. What went on behind the scene is not publicly known but during that period a publishing house a little bit opposed to the then government started a campaign against Punjabi language. The campaign was initiated by Prof Fateh Muhammad Malik, then head of the National Language Authority. Its basic assertion was that “Urdu was the mother tongue of the Punjabis” a headline of an article published in the old Paisa Akhbar in 1908, the paper carried a controversy on Urdu-Punjabi issue for almost six months about which a book has been prepared by university teacher of Punjabi Dr Naveed Shahzad. The 2003 campaign was meant to serve the cause of Urdu but it intended to pressurise the government into not giving paid publicity to Punjabi. It is the right of Urdu and English only. Now the same printing house is more close to the present provincial government and is still pulling strings against Punjabi print media and only nominal advertisement are being doled out to Punjabi newspapers and magazines.

So far the central government is concerned, it has never bothered to provide advertisement to Punjabi papers. But now one hopes that after Gillani’s assurance to increase rates of official advertisement it would be ensured that Punjabi papers should also be placed on the media list. The information ministry would also take care of the Punjabi media on equal basis with the print media of other provincial languages. There should be no discrimination which some wings of the information ministry has shown in some cases.

So far question of discrimination is concerned its glaring example one can draw from the attitude of the National Press Trust. One paper of the National Press Trust, daily Imroze was also published from Multan, the hometown of Prime Minister Gilani. This paper and its major partner Imroze, Lahore, was also closed down by the Nawaz Sharif government in November 1991. The employees were promised a golden handshake which was not given and in the final analysis even the pensioners were deprived of their due rights granted under the Pension Rules of the publishing company of the PPL. This act of the Sharif government was challenged in a court where the verdict came in favour of the employees and finally it was endorsed by the Supreme Court. But the NPT was all the time adamant to pay the dues and the pension and dragged the case as far as it was possible.

After a long time, a former federal information secretary Ashfaq Gondal committed in a court that all the dues would be paid by the National Press Trust. But, again for a very long time the dues were not paid and even after Gilani’s appointment as prime minister and his promise to the deprived press workers the payment was delayed. Ultimately, the Multan employees resorted to a weekly public demonstration outside the Multan Press Club. It was under the public pressure that the NPT was ordered to pay the dues whether the affectees had gone to the court or not.

In July last year, payments were made but not to the all. To be more sure a letter was issued by NPT General Manager Syed Sajid Mohsin on Aug 7 which said: “I am delighted to inform you that the competent authority has, as per its commitment made in the superior court and in line with the decision of the Lahore High Court, decided to give monthly pension to you and those employees of the defunct Imroze, Multan/Lahore who fulfill the criteria laid down in the PPL Pension Rules, 1985.”

That was perhaps not enough, therefore to give more assurance to the affected employees, the NPT published an advertisement in some of national dailies of Islamabad, including Nawa-i-Waqt, declaring that all Imroze employees whose services were terminated on Nov 30, 1991, would be paid their pension according to the pension rules irrespective of the fact whether they have so far sought any relief from any court. Well this advertisement was published on Aug 7, 2010, but practically only those employees of Multan are being paid in whose favour the Supreme Court had given verdict but rest of the employees of Multan and Lahore are not being obliged in line with the declared policy of the NPT.

The NPT Lahore is still posing in a labour court that it will not pay to Lahore employees. Why? Because Lahore is not the hometown of the prime minister (despite the fact that he has bought a house in the DHA Sector 3) and Multan is. So Multanis are privileged subject comparing to Lahorites!