BOL News reportedly fires Absa Komal after protest speech

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 16 September 2026 |  JP Staff Report

Absa Komal was reportedly removed from air or dismissed by BOL News after criticising media owners and highlighting unpaid, delayed salaries during a hunger strike by the Rawalpindi-Islamabad Union of Journalists outside the National Press Club. Neither BOL nor Komal had confirmed the reports.

Summary

ISLAMABAD — BOL News has reportedly dismissed prominent anchor Absa Komal after she criticized media owners and highlighted unpaid salaries during a journalists’ protest in the capital. Journalists said the action came within a day of her September 14 appearance at a hunger strike camp organized by the Rawalpindi-Islamabad Union of Journalists outside the National Press Club.

Neither BOL News nor Komal had issued a public statement confirming a formal termination or explaining the reported decision at the time of publication. Some public accounts said she had been fired, while others described her as having been taken off air and removed from her program. The BOL News website continued to list Policy Point with Absa Komal among its shows on September 16.

Remarks focus on unpaid salaries and newsroom treatment

The two-day hunger strike camp was organized by the RIUJ on the call of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists. Chaired by PFUJ President Afzal Butt, the protest focused on forced dismissals, delayed or unpaid salaries and the arrest of journalists under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act.

Addressing the camp, Komal said journalists and other employees at some media organizations had not received salaries for three months. She accused television managements of treating journalists as “second-class citizens” while employees in the owners’ other businesses were paid on time.

Journalists condemn reported retaliation

Komal also criticized a pattern in which junior and lower-paid employees are dismissed first during financial difficulties, while senior management remains protected. She said young journalists enter the profession with expectations of building careers but are frequently denied salaries and removed from their positions.

Reports of action against her prompted criticism from journalists, rights advocates and political figures. Journalist Asad Ali Toor called for her immediate restoration to the screen, while former senator Afrasiab Khattak said taking her off air after she discussed unpaid salaries reflected a culture in which media workers were discouraged from speaking about their own exploitation.

The timing of the reported decision fueled allegations that Komal had been punished for her remarks. However, without a public explanation from BOL News or a termination notice released by Komal, the reason for the reported action and her precise employment status could not be independently established.

Dismissal dispute widens media labor debate

The episode has intensified scrutiny of employment practices inside Pakistan’s television industry. Delayed salaries and sudden dismissals can place journalists under economic pressure while discouraging newsroom employees from raising concerns about their working conditions.

Participants in the RIUJ protest demanded that media organizations clear outstanding salaries and stop forced dismissals. They also called for stronger protection of journalists facing arrests, notices and criminal proceedings under PECA. Representatives of human rights groups and political parties attended the camp to express solidarity with media workers.

BOL News announced Komal’s appointment as a senior anchor in April 2025. She subsequently hosted the prime-time current affairs program Policy Point with Absa Komal. She previously worked with Dawn News and Geo News and has extensive experience in television and radio journalism.

ATTRIBUTION: Based on public reporting about the RIUJ protest and social media statements by Pakistani journalists on September 15, 2026.

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