ISLAMABAD: In the light of the directions of the Prime Minister’s office to clear outstanding payments to media, PID has taken up the issue of outstanding payments with all the Federal Ministries/ Departments/Organizations and expedited the payment process. In this connection, the first tranche of payment worth 63 million was distributed by Shahera Shahid, Principal Information Officer to the advertising agencies concerned. The advertising agencies have undertaken to clear the payment of newspapers/channels against the received amount within 48 hours. The purpose of this exercise is to ensure that the media houses should start making timely payments to their media workers before Eid. Both APNS and PBA were consulted before the distribution of cheques and a representative of APNS was also present during the distribution of cheques. It needs to be clarified that this is the first tranche and the efforts are being made to clear the outstanding payments before Eid.—APP