Sain Sarkar’s Goldmine for Ghost Press: Dummy Dailies Reap Millions

The Sindh Information Department allocated over Rs 149.1 million in advertisements during the fiscal year 2023–24 to various newspapers that neither have significant circulation nor are available at stalls.

The Auditor General of Pakistan’s Audit Report for 2024–25 has termed this spending on daily, weekly, and monthly newspapers as a waste of public funds and has called for identifying those responsible.

In the digital age, the issue of awarding crores of rupees in advertisement funds to obscure or unknown newspapers raised before the Ministry of Information in September 2024. A meeting of the Departmental Accounts Committee held on 13 November 2024.

During the meeting, details requested regarding the newspapers’ ABC (Audit Bureau of Circulations) certification, stall availability, and other relevant data. However, officials from the Information Department failed to satisfy the audit team regarding the merit and transparency of advertisement allocations.

The audit report states that the Sindh Information Department violated the Advertisement Policy 2023 while issuing these advertisements. The report recommends identifying the responsible officials and immediately halting this practice.

It is worth noting that similar irregularities amounting to Rs 72.3 million also highlighted in the audit report for the fiscal year 2021–22.