Islamabad - Newspaper hawkers in Pakistan are up in arms against the newspaper owners' decision to observe one holiday instead of the usual two for the forthcoming end-of-Ramadan Eid festivities.
The All Pakistan Newspapers Society on Saturday accused the hawkers, who have refused to distribute the newspaper published the day after Eid, of reneging on an agreement reached between them 10 years ago.
According to the society that agreement had reduced the number of non-publication days for newspapers from 18 to six and allotted one holiday for Eid, a religious festival that is as important to Muslims as Christmas is to Christians.
'We are simply looking after your interests as readers, so that the print media can minimize its non-publication days as a service to its wide-ranging readership,' the society said in an advertisement carried by its members on Saturday.
In the similar tussle last year the publishers of newspapers had to give in to the hawkers demand for two Eid holidays.
