Overview

• Speaking on APNS-led National Newspaper Readership Day, President Asif Ali Zardari said newspapers help build an informed citizenry and strengthen democracy.
• He urged schools and universities to cultivate newspaper-reading habits among students to foster critical thinking.
• He called on print outlets to uphold ethics, impartiality and responsibility, noting that press freedom must be exercised with truth and balance.
• He said the industry should sustain itself through public trust and loyalty rather than government support or big business patronage.
• Opinion pieces echoed newspapers’ value for verification and context over speed and pointed to Punjab initiatives linking universities with newsrooms and investing in training for young media professionals.