CDA seals Islamabad’s Akhbar Market over Rs10m dues; newspaper supply suspended
ISLAMABAD: Municipal authorities sealed Akhbar Market in Aabpara on Thursday over disputed dues of around Rs10 million, suspending newspaper deliveries across the capital, including to the Prime Minister’s Office, the President’s Office and foreign embassies.
The action was carried out by the Directorate of Municipal Administration (DMA) of the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad. The All Pakistan Akhbar Farosh Federation disputed the demand, saying it had already cleared the market’s rent. Its representatives alleged that the claimed dues related to an adjacent vacant plot that had never been allotted or leased to the federation.
The Akhbar Market sealed this week has served for decades as the central hub for newspaper distribution in Islamabad. Hawkers and newspaper vendors staged protests at Aabpara Chowk and threatened to suspend newspaper distribution across the twin cities if the market was not de-sealed.
What each side claims
Federation Secretary General Tikka Khan and other representatives met Chief Commissioner and CDA Chairman Sohail Ashraf to seek his intervention. The federation said newspaper supplies would remain suspended until the market was unsealed.
A DMA officer defended the closure, maintaining that the market had outstanding charges, while saying the matter was being examined. When Dawn asked how dues could reach Rs10 million if the market’s monthly rent was fixed at Rs1,000, which would put total pending rent at around Rs500,000, the officer said the market was defaulting and stood by the sealing.
Separately, the DMA kept the G-6 and H-9 weekly bazaars closed on Friday over fire safety concerns, inconveniencing shoppers and vendors. Authorities said both markets would reopen once CDA’s emergency services verified fire prevention arrangements and issued clearance. Vendors maintained that they had installed functional safety equipment and requested inspections. The H-9 bazaar has suffered repeated fires, including a major blaze in June that began in Block C, which mainly houses shoe stalls. Officials said safety requirements would not be relaxed. We covered the H-9 and G-6 weekly market closures in detail earlier today.
APNS calls it an attack on press freedom
The All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) strongly condemned the sealing, calling it arbitrary and an attack on press freedom. In a joint statement, APNS President Senator Sarmad Ali and Secretary General Muhammad Athar Qazi said CDA officials had sealed the market on October 16 without giving any reason or serving prior notice.
The APNS office-bearers said the unjustified action would disrupt the timely delivery of newspapers to readers and cause substantial financial losses to media houses and newspaper vendors. They urged the interior minister to intervene personally and direct the relevant department to de-seal the market immediately and restore its normal operations.
The Hawkers’ Union and traders’ bodies described the CDA’s action as an attack on press freedom and a restriction on the fundamental right of access to information. The protesters also announced they would stage sit-ins outside the Press Club and CDA headquarters if their demands were not met.
Akhbar Market sealed: a pattern of CDA enforcement
The Akhbar Market sealed this week is not the first sealing action by the capital’s administration this month. The CDA and Islamabad administration have been running an aggressive enforcement drive, from sealing retail outlets over the PET bottle ban to the weekly bazaar closures on fire safety grounds.
What makes this case different is the target: a newspaper distribution hub whose closure affects the flow of information itself, not just commerce. The CDA has been unusually active this month, from the E-12 sector development drive to the PET bottle enforcement, and each action has drawn a political reaction. That is why the APNS, the Hawkers’ Union and traders’ organisations have all framed the dispute in press freedom terms, while the DMA treats it as a routine dues-recovery operation.
The gap between the federation’s account and the DMA’s insistence on defaulting charges remains unresolved, and Islamabad’s newspaper supply stays suspended.
The original reporting on this development was published by ProPakistani and Dawn.
FAQ
Why was Akhbar Market sealed?
The Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad’s Directorate of Municipal Administration sealed the Aabpara newspaper market over disputed dues of around Rs10 million. The vendors’ federation disputes the demand, saying it cleared the market’s rent and the claimed dues relate to an adjacent plot never allotted to it.
How has the sealing affected Islamabad?
Newspaper deliveries across the capital were suspended, affecting residents, the Prime Minister’s Office, the President’s Office and embassies. Vendors have threatened to keep supplies suspended until the market is unsealed.
What are vendors demanding?
The federation, the APNS, the Hawkers’ Union and traders’ bodies want the market de-sealed immediately. They have sought the CDA chairman’s and the interior minister’s intervention and warned of sit-ins outside the Press Club and CDA headquarters.
