LAHORE: The Punjab government has shut down its printing press
in Lahore, stranded hundreds of its employees and dumped the age-old historic equipment – without any clear roadmap surrounding the fate
of the institution or its transition.
Closure of Historic Punjab Printing Press Leaves Employees in Limbo and Heritage at Risk
The provincial government has quietly shut down its historic printing press in Lahore, demolishing the building and leaving its fate—along with that of its 300 employees and a collection of vintage machinery—uncertain. The Bahawalpur press was also closed months ago.
The press, located on land originally acquired by the government years ago for the construction of sessions courts, has been completely razed. Of the total 60-kanal site, 31 kanals have now been transferred to the Lahore High Court following the demolition.
According to sources, the press's historically significant equipment has been haphazardly stored in a single room. Among the discarded machines is a functioning relic from the 1860s—a press that operated using a traditional Thappa (stamp) method. In total, around 50 machines, ranging from 50 to over 100 years old, now lie abandoned.
The facility was responsible for printing essential government documents, including gazette notifications, letterheads for the Civil Secretariat and various provincial departments, and even the registers used by patwaris (land revenue officers).
Officials, speaking on background, suggest the government views these presses as obsolete, planning to replace them with a modern, digitized system. However, no concrete plan has been announced for the over 300 affected employees in Lahore and their counterparts in Bahawalpur.
Despite repeated attempts, Dawn was unable to obtain an official explanation. Chief Secretary Zahid Akhtar Zaman, Additional Chief Secretary Ahmad Raza Sarwar, and Industries Department Secretary Umer Masood all declined to comment on the rationaletion equipment.
