Government to end ABC newspaper circulation system

Islamabad: The government has decided to shut down the existing Audit Bureau of Circulations system after admitting that the decades old mechanism used to check newspaper circulation has become outdated and susceptible to irregularities.

Federal Information Minister Attaullah Tarar told a Senate committee that the ABC system was no longer performing its real purpose. “ABC is no longer ABC; it has become DEF,” the minister remarked while announcing plans to replace it with a modern system.

The government plans to merge the Audit Bureau of Circulations with the Press Registrar’s Office and create a new organisation to verify newspaper circulation and determine government advertising rates. This development is important because the number of copies a newspaper claims to sell determines its advertising rate and share of government advertisements.

Tarar told the committee that problems existed on both sides of the circulation verification process. He said the government would introduce reforms to stop manipulation and make the system more transparent. A committee has already been formed, and the government hopes to present a solution by next month.

Senate Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting Chairman Senator Sarmad Ali said the existing ABC system had become irrelevant. He said circulation verification bodies in other countries were normally operated by the private sector.

According to him, Pakistan was the only country where the ABC functioned as a government department. The chairman said an outdated government controlled system could no longer correctly measure how many copies of a newspaper were printed and sold.

The committee was informed that newspapers would be asked to submit records in digital form under the proposed new arrangement. Under the current system, government advertising rates are linked to the certified circulation of newspapers.

A newspaper claiming higher circulation can qualify for a higher advertising rate and receive more government advertisements. Committee members noted that rates were fixed according to different circulation levels, including 10,000, 20,000 and 40,000 copies.

However, the information minister said the existing categories had become unrealistic. Under the present rules, newspapers published outside Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi and Islamabad are treated as regional publications.

Another category states that newspapers with circulation below 10,000 copies fall under “Metropolitan B”. Tarar said almost no newspaper appeared to have an officially certified circulation below 10,000 copies, raising questions about whether the reported figures reflected actual sales.

He said the new system would review both circulation verification and newspaper advertising rates. The crisis facing the print industry was highlighted by RIUJ leader Asif Bashir Chaudhry. He said the newspaper industry was now close to collapse.

Butt recalled asking a newspaper hawker how many copies of a leading newspaper he currently distributed. The hawker reportedly said he now delivered only 12 copies of Jang, compared with nearly 500 copies in the past.

According to Asif Bashir Chaudhry , a single hawker once sold close to 1,000 newspapers every morning. The sharp fall shows how readers have moved from printed newspapers to television, websites and social media.

However, committee members warned that the decline of established newspapers could increase the spread of fake and unverified information.

The committee was informed that the government spent around Rs1.3 billion on print media advertisements during the 2024-25 financial year. Spending on digital media stood at approximately Rs1 billion.

The figures showed that digital advertising was moving closer to the amount spent on newspapers. Tarar said the share of print media needed to increase because established newspapers have professional editorial teams, organisational structures and codes of conduct.

He said digital platforms operated by recognised newspapers should receive first preference in government digital advertising. The government has discussed the issue with the All Pakistan Newspapers Society and the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors.

Tarar said support would be provided to newspaper owned digital platforms under the Government Advertisement Policy 2024. Committee members also raised concerns about newspapers published in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh.

Senator Jan Muhammad said newspapers in Balochistan were facing a serious financial crisis and were not receiving proper attention from the federal government. Senator Sarmad Ali said similar complaints had been received from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh, particularly from Sindhi-language newspapers.

The information minister directed officials to identify genuine regional newspapers published in Brahui, Pashto, Sindhi, Urdu and other languages. He ordered the ministry to prepare a report within one week listing authentic publications and their reasonable circulation levels.

The report is expected to help the government develop a fair system for distributing advertisements among regional newspapers.

Senator Sarmad Ali said print media must be supported because television channels and digital platforms often obtain their news from established newspapers. He said mainstream media could counter fake news effectively only if it remained financially strong.

The committee stressed that government support should be based on transparent rules rather than exaggerated circulation claims or personal influence. The proposed new authority will create a modern method to verify newspaper circulation, registration and advertising rates.

The government has not yet announced when the existing ABC system will formally close or how newspaper owners and employees will be represented in the new body.

The meeting was chaired by Senator Sarmad Ali and attended by Senators Syed Waqar Mehdi, Jan Muhammad and Abdul Shakoor Khan. Senator Pervaiz Rashid participated through a video link.