SrinagarSeveral unions of newspaper editors and owners have hailed Information Minister Chaudry Zulfikar Ali’s action against a senior officer of Department of Information and Public Relations who has been widely accused of being hand in glove with a select few newspapers.
Jammu Kashmir Editors Association hailed the government action against Joint Director DIPR who has been attached by government while Director DIPR has been appointed as inquiry officer to probe the allegations with regard to unfair distribution of advertisements.
Minister ordered the attachment of Joint Director (Kashmir) Zahoor Ahmed Mir after irregularities in advertisement distribution came to fore.
Demanding stern action against the accused officer, Jammu Kashmir Editors Association stressed upon the government to initiate all the necessary steps needed to revamp the department.
The Association said that some vested interests are trying to shield the officer who has been at the helm of affairs in terms of providing advertisement support to the newspapers being published from Kashmir.
The officer in question is accused of misusing his powers vested on him. He not only arbitrarily curtailed volume of advertisements to certain established newspapers, but also created a culture of favouritism in the department.
The Association appealed the concerned Minister to initiate a thorough probe and take suitable action under law.
Meanwhile J&K Press Association also hailed the action taken by the Minister in charge Information Department, Chowdry Zulfkar Ali, against the Joint Director Information Department Kashmir Wing for committal of the alleged corrupt practices. “It needs to be stated that both the JDs of Kashmir and Jammu wings of the Information Department have been resorting to unfair distribution of advertisements and depriving the majority of publishers of newspapers of their due share and quantity of Ads”, a JKPA statement said.
JKPA expressed optimism that the Minister will ensure fair distribution of advertisements among the Media Houses to discourage alleged favouritism and nepotism and allow the Fourth Estate to perform its professional obligations objectively.
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