- Annual elections of the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) for year 2025–26 held in Karachi
- Council also releases Media Freedom Report on World Press Freedom Day
KARACHI: In the annual elections of the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) for the year 2025–26, Kazim Khan of Daily Dunya was elected as President and Ghulam Nabi Chandio of Daily Pak as Secretary General (SG) unopposed.
Similarly, Ayaz Khan was elected Senior Vice President, Tanveer Shaukat as Deputy Secretary General, Hamid Hussain Abidi as Finance Secretary, and Zia Tanoli as Information Secretary. The elected Vice Presidents include Qazi Asad Abid, Adnan Zafar, Yahya Khan Sadozai, Mian Hassan Ahmad, and Munir Ahmad Baloch. The Joint Secretaries elected are Tahir Farooq, Munazza Seham, Rafi Niazi, Arif Baloch, and Waqas Tariq Farooq.
Other unopposed elected members of the Standing Committee include Dr Jabbar Khattak, Ikram Sehgal, Akmal Chauhan, Babar Nizami, Maqsood Yousufi, Sher Muhammad Khawer, Sardar Muhammad Siraj, Mudasir Iqbal, Muhammad Owais Razi, Shehzad Amin, Irfan Athar, Shakeel Ahmad Turabi, Tazeen Akhtar, Anwar Sajdi, Mumtaz Ahmad Sadiq, Faqeer Manthar Mangrio, Abdul Rahman Mangrio, Dr. Zubair Mehmood, Masood Khan, Fazal Haq, Zulfiqar Ahmad Rahat, Ali Ahmad Dhillon, Amir Mehmood, Syed Intizar Hussain Zanjani, Aslam Mian, Hamza Ali Afghan, Ayaz Memon, Mudasir Alam, and Mehmood Alam Khalid.
Newly-elected President Kazim Khan, during a Standing Committee meeting, expressed a firm commitment to defending Pakistan’s journalistic boundaries through truth and verified news. He further stated that CPNE will continue to resist the misuse of the PECA Act, emphasizing that rulers must understand the difference between criticism and disrespect and ensure fair distribution of advertisements.
On the occasion, the house condemned India’s unilateral decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty based on a fabricated incident in Pahalgam. This was declared a blatant violation of international law. A resolution also condemned India’s war hysteria that threatens the lives and security of over two billion people in the region and considered the escalating Pakistan-India tensions a global threat.
It was also highlighted in the meeting that the government acknowledged the responsible role of Pakistan’s print, electronic, and digital media, which effectively presented the national narrative and countered Indian propaganda. A resolution called on the government to repeal all laws that go against freedom of expression and to ensure press freedom in light of this acknowledgment.
On this occasion of World Press Freedom Day (May 3), CPNE also released its Media Freedom Report.
