Daily Times sacks Islamabad resident editor, reporters

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 3 April 2015 |  JP Staff Reporter

The Daily Times management has terminated its Islamabad resident editor and several reporters due to a conflict with the Lahore editor. As a result, the remaining reporters protested and faced layoffs despite earlier contract renewal plans.

Summary

ISLAMABAD: The management of the English language newspaper Daily Times has terminated its resident editor in Islamabad as well as seven reporters.

A source tells JournalismPakistan.com that Resident Editor Fasih ur Rehman was terminated in the first week of March following a tiff with the editor in Lahore, Rashid Rahman.

All reporters at the Islamabad station were, however, asked to continue their work as the management was planning to renew their annual contracts, he said.

“All seven reporters stopped filing stories in protest against the management’s decision to terminate Fasih ur Rehman,” he said.

On March 28, the reporters received separate official letters from Lahore informing them that their job contracts were not being renewed and they were also being laid off, he said.

At the moment, only one reporter is working with the newspaper in Islamabad and he is said to be close to Rashid Rahman.

Fasih ur Rehman and most of the reporters sacked had switched from The Nation to Daily Times in March last year.

KEY POINTS:

• Fasih ur Rehman was terminated after a dispute with Lahore editor Rashid Rahman.
• Seven reporters were laid off despite initial plans for contract renewals.
• Remaining reporters protested the termination and ceased filing stories.
• Only one reporter continues to work in Islamabad, close to Rashid Rahman.
• Most sacked reporters had previously worked at The Nation.