ISLAMABAD: Federal Information Minister Attaullah Tarar negating claims of suspension of government advertisements to the Dawn media group has said that the group received Rs 8.6 billion in government advertisements over the past 13 months.
Speaking in a special interview with WE News, the minister said the claim that government advertisements to Dawn had been completely suspended was incorrect.
He added that he could provide full details of government advertisements issued to the group during the last 13 months.
He said government advertisements are released under different publicity campaigns and there is no fixed quota for such advertisements.
The minister said a large media group should not rely solely on government advertisements as its source of income.
He added that instead of depending only on state ads, media organisations should explore alternative revenue streams.
Attaullah Tarar said it was unfortunate that a major institution like the Dawn Group laid off employees despite receiving such a large volume of advertisements.
