BEIJING, MAR 31 /DNA/ – Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China H.E. Mr. Wang Yi and Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar met in Beijing on 31 March 2026 to review the situation in the Gulf and Middle East Region.
The two sides put forward the following:
I. Immediate Cessation of Hostilities: China and Pakistan call for immediate cessation of hostilities and utmost efforts to prevent the conflict from spreading. Humanitarian assistance must be allowed to all war-affected areas.
II. Start of peace talks as soon as possible. Sovereignty, territorial integrity, national independence and security of Iran and the Gulf states should be safeguarded. Dialogue and diplomacy is the only viable option to resolve conflicts. China and Pakistan support the relevant parties in initiating talks, with all parties committing to peaceful resolution of disputes, and refraining from the use or the threat of use of force during peace talks.
III. Security of nonmilitary targets. The principle of protecting civilians in military conflict should be observed. China and Pakistan call on parties to the conflict to immediately stop attacks on civilians and nonmilitary targets, and fully adhere to International Humanitarian Law (IHL), and stop attacking important infrastructure, including energy, desalination and power facilities, and peaceful nuclear infrastructure, such as nuclear power plants.
IV. Security of shipping lanes. The Strait of Hormuz, together with its adjacent waters, is an important global shipping route for goods and energy. China and Pakistan call on the parties to protect the security of ships and crew members stranded in the Strait of Hormuz, allow the early and safe passage of civilian and commercial ships, and restore normal passage through the Strait as soon as possible.
V. Primacy of the United Nations Charter. China and Pakistan call for efforts to practice true multilateralism, to jointly strengthen the primacy of the U.N., and to support the conclusion of an agreement for establishing a comprehensive peace framework and realizing lasting peace based on the purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter and international law.
[18:50, 31/03/2026] Ansar Mamo: Sarmad Ali again elected
as President of APNS
Centreline magazine again elected as Member of the Executive Committee
DNA
KARACHI: The Annual Meeting of the APNS General Council held on March 31, 2026 at APNS House, Karachi unanimously re-elected Senator Sarmad Ali as President, Nazafreen Saigol Lakhani as Senior Vice President, Shahab Zuberi as Vice President, Muhammad Athar Kazi as Secretary General, Mohsin Bilal as Joint Secretary and Naveed Kashif as Finance Secretary of the Society.
The AGM was held under the chairmanship of Senator Sarmad Ali, President of the Society. The Council unanimously approved the report of the Executive Committee for the year 2025-2026 as well as the Annual Accounts of the Society for the year 2025.
The AGM in a resolution, expressed its profound concern on the state of print media due to the present geo-political and economic situation which has caused severe financial crisis for newspapers, many of them are at the verge of collapse. In this situation, the media expected support from the government to brave the financial crunch. The AGM urged upon the Federal Government to implement the decision of Mian Shahbaz Sharif approved in his last tenure to increase the government advertisement rates. The members in the AGM, requested the Federal and provincial governments to pay the long outstanding dues of newspaper industry, increase the quantum of advertisements and allocate a separate share of print media in the advertising budget so that the newspaper industry would be able to survive in the present situation.
The Annual General Council of the APNS adopted a resolution wherein it showed its dismay over the ban on the Federal, Provincial Govt. ads to Dawn Media for last 17 months. The Annual General Council noted that the newspaper is facing existential survival issue due to denial of Government ads and opined that consistent denial of Govt. ads to Dawn Media is unjust and unfair. The AGM unanimously expressed its solidarity with Dawn Media Group in the hour of financial strangulation.
The General Council attended by 118 members from across the country, formed an Election Commission headed by Mr. Mumtaz Ahmed Phulpoto with Ali Bin Younus and Mr. Nasir Dad Baloch as members. The Election Commission conducted the election of the Executive Committee for the year 2026-27.
Following dailies and magazines were elected un-opposed of the Executive Committee of the APNS for the next tenure:
Daily Aghaz, Daily Business Recorder, Daily Dawn, Daily Deyanat, Daily Jasarat, Daily Jiddat, Karachi, Daily Dunya, Daily Jang, Daily Khabrain, Daily Nawa-i-Waqt, Daily Pakistan, Lahore, Daily Tijarat, Daily Ausaf, Daily Sahafat, Daily Awam (Quetta), Daily Mashriq (Quetta), Daily Mashriq (Peshawar), Daily Wahdat, Daily Kaleem, Daily Kawish, Daily Aftab (Multan), Daily Business Report, Daily Paigham, Daily City 42 Daily Pakistan Observer, Daily Halchal, Daily Sayadat on daily seats and Monthly Dastak, Monthly Naey Ufaq, Monthly Naya Rukh, Weekly Tabeer, Monthly Centreline, Weekly AZM and Fortnightly Ibrat Magazine elected on periodical seats.
The new Executive Committee elected Mrs. Zahida Abbasi of Daily Nau Sijj, Karachi on woman – publishers seat.
The newly elected Executive Committee appreciated the performance of the Election Commission for conducting the elections.
