PESHAWAR: The printers and publishers registered with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Text Book Board decided on Saturday to take the government’s ‘Open Tender Policy’ in court.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) led government is being accused of causing closure of 97 per cent of the presses besides rendering thousands of workers jobless.
“We have held consultations with renowned lawyers over the decision of KP government regarding printing of text books and got assurance of getting a relief from court,” said Frontier Printers and Publishers Association Chairman Iqtedar Ali Akhunzada.
A meeting of the printers has been called within a couple of days and final decision will be taken in this regard with consensus, he added. Talking to APP on Saturday, Iqtedar said printers were approaching concerned quarters for rescinding of the decision but after passage of one year no one gave proper heed to our requests.
“The decision of bringing about abrupt changes in the decades old in vogue printing contract awarding procedure with an open tender policy has badly impacted the printers who were left with no option except to close their businesses and lay off staff,” said Akhunzada.
“After announcement of new policy by KP government in 2015, around 80 per cent of textbook businesses have shifted out of province, leaving the local printers in KP in a state of lurch,” he added.
The chairman said that successive provincial governments in the past gave protection to its printers by directing the KP’s Text Book Board to give allocation of printing to local printers on the basis of capability of each press evaluated through number of installed machines.
He lashed out at PTI’s flawed and wrongly assessed policy that resulted in destruction of printing industry and left thousands of people jobless. He also lamented that this year – out of 84 registered printers in KP – only 13 have participated in tender process.
Among these 13 printers only three or four would get some orders and the remaining – all the 80 to 81 printers – will be removing the dust from their machines throughout the year.
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