JournalismPakistan.com | Published 9 years ago
Join our WhatsApp channel
ISLAMABAD – BOL News hit the airwaves Tuesday starting its Media Azadi Test Transmission that signaled a formal launch of the channel that faced a 15-month ordeal was now imminent.
Prominent and hard-hitting anchor Mubasher Lucman hosted the transmission that began with the national anthem.
Among the first appearances were those of BOL’s very own – senior journalists Nazir Leghari, Amir Zia, Faysal Aziz Khan and actor Nabeel.
Lucman dedicated the broadcast to journalists in Indian Occupied Kashmir, where they are being subjected to attacks and harassment on a daily basis.
The transmission being beamed out of BOL auditorium in Karachi was to run up to 12.30am.
BOL managers are aiming to launch the channel before the close of the year.
BOL CEO Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh and several of his senior managers languished in jail for 15 months after a New York Times story in May 2015 claimed Axact, the parent organization of BOL News, was involved in selling fake degrees worldwide.
However, it is widely believed a conspiracy was hatched against BOL by some top news organizations that felt threatened by the channel's financial might and its claims of taking the Pakistani media industry by storm.
November 01, 2025: Pakistan Press Foundation reports 137 attacks on journalists in 2025, highlighting rising threats, legal harassment, and censorship on the International Day to End Impunity.
November 01, 2025: A viral Samaa TV clip featuring MNA Sher Afzal Marwat’s crude remarks and Talat Hussain’s laughter raises questions about the declining ethics of Pakistani television.
October 31, 2025: Police foiled a plot to kill DawnNewsTV journalist Tahir Naseer in Rawalpindi after arresting suspects hired for Rs200,000. Naseer says threats followed his reporting.
October 31, 2025: CPJ calls on Pakistan to bring Imtiaz Mir’s killers to justice after the journalist was allegedly murdered by a banned militant group in Karachi.
October 30, 2025: The PFUJ has condemned a fabricated drug case against journalist Matiullah Jan, calling it an attempt to silence him and urging authorities to quash the charges immediately.
October 30, 2025: NewsOne TV remains on air but faces mass layoffs and delayed salaries, exposing Pakistan’s worsening media crisis and financial instability.
October 28, 2025: Sindh Police arrested four suspects linked to a banned outfit in the murder of journalist Imtiaz Mir, who was shot in Karachi in September 2025.
October 26, 2025: Riffat Ara Alvi, the mother of slain Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif, has died, ending her relentless fight for justice following his killing in Kenya in 2022.
October 31, 2025 Radio Free Asia, a US government-funded broadcaster covering tightly controlled Asian media environments, has suspended all news operations after federal funding dried up.
October 30, 2025 PSL franchise fees lag far behind IPL's USD 18.5B valuation as Pakistan Cricket Board's bureaucratic grip stifles growth. Hard numbers expose a stark reality.
October 30, 2025 India’s government has proposed strict new rules mandating the labelling of AI-generated and deepfake media to curb misinformation and ensure content authenticity on social platforms.
October 30, 2025 Vietnamese authorities seize BBC journalist’s passport amid interrogation, sparking outrage as Hanoi leader To Lam visits the UK. Rights groups urge her release.
October 30, 2025 CDEPS and CPJ condemn the arrest of 7TV’s Maimouna Ndour Faye and other journalists in a late October crackdown on Senegalese media over interviews with a wanted politician.