Nepal, April 5 -- The government's move to route all public advertisements through state-owned media, aimed at curbing corruption, has sparked widespread criticism for undermining private media, transparency, and press independence.

Experts see this as an attempt to weaken the private sector, a pillar of independent journalism. If advertising agencies and officials colluded to siphon off large portions of advertising budgets and produced fake bills that cost the state billions, then stopping such malpractice should have been the priority.

Instead, restricting public funds to state-owned media while excluding the private sector raises serious questions of fairness. Moreover, once a media outlet becomes a public company with shares owned ...