Government conspiring against BOL in garb of investigations, says union leader

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 31 May 2015

Journalists in Kohistan are defending BOL News against government actions linked to Axact. Union leader Waqar Saeed asserts the need to protect media freedom.

Summary

KOHISTAN: Kohistan Union of Journalists has urged the government to refrain from interfering in launch of BOL News Television under the garb of investigations into its parent company Axact. The journalists from the district held a rally Saturday to express solidarity with journalists working in BOL. “We are standing by our fellow journalists at this difficult time,” said President of the union Waqar Saeed while speaking to participants of the rally. He said the government is hatching a conspiracy against the channel under the garb of Axact investigations. “It is a pity that journalists across the country have been protesting against PEMRA and the government for the last three days but no media house was giving them coverage,” he said. Saeed urged the government to take back its letter written to PEMRA to block the channel's transmission as the situation was bound to hurt livelihood of journalists attached with BOL.

KEY POINTS:

• Kohistan Union of Journalists rallied in support of BOL News.
• Waqar Saeed claims government is conspiring against the channel.
• Protests have been ongoing against PEMRA and government actions.
• The union demands the withdrawal of a letter to block BOL's transmission.
• Concerns raised over the impact on journalists' livelihoods.