JournalismPakistan.com | Published November 18, 2018
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PESHAWAR – Continuing its downsizing, The Express Tribune on Saturday laid-off the last remaining members of its reporting team in Peshawar.
An insider tells JournalismPakistan.com that three senior reporters – Riaz Ahmed, Sohail Khattak, and Hidayatullah Khan - were told to resign.
Umer Farooq, a fourth reporter was transferred to Express-News Television a couple of weeks ago.
The management promised to pay the terminated journalists three-month salaries.
With this latest round of layoffs, only a translator is now left at the Express Tribune’s Peshawar office. He too is likely to leave soon.
Izharullah, who at one time worked at the Express Tribune tweeted: “Really sad to hear Express Tribune laid off all its Peshawar reporters and my former colleagues. We worked together and have contributed really good stuffs to the ET pages at the time @IftikharFirdous was looking into the city pages. Wishing good luck to all my friends.”
Really sad to hear Express Tribune laid off all its Peshawar reporters and my former colleagues. We worked together and have contributed really good stuffs to the ET pages at the time @IftikharFirdous was looking into the city pages. Wishing good luck to all my friends.
— Izharullah (@Izhar2u) November 17, 2018
Earlier this month, the paper fired six reporters from its Karachi center.
June 19, 2020: Urdu newspaper Jehan Pakistan has laid off four reporters and seven newsroom staff in Islamabad, shifting to an online-only format. The management has promised to settle all dues, including three months' wages, for the terminated employees.
May 03, 2020: ARY Digital Network announces a three-month salary cut to cope with the financial crisis due to COVID-19, exempting staff earning up to Rs100,000. DawnNews Television also reduces salaries by 10 percent.
May 01, 2020: DawnNews Television cuts staff salaries by 10 percent and halves fuel allowances amid ongoing financial challenges. This marks the third pay cut in a year, highlighting the severe impact on Pakistani journalists facing layoffs and delayed salaries since 2018.
March 05, 2020: The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) condemns the sudden closure of the Daily Asian newspaper, which left 60 journalists jobless. PFUJ urges the government to regulate media licenses to prevent misuse.
October 02, 2019: ARY News and Aaj News Television have terminated 150 employees as part of a downsizing strategy, drawing condemnation from the IFJ and PFUJ. This follows previous layoffs at Dunya News, highlighting growing concerns over job security and unpaid wages for journalists in Pakistan.
October 01, 2019: Dunya Media Group has terminated over 80 employees from its Multan station, following similar layoffs in Lahore. The company plans to centralize operations with fewer staff. The move, which includes paying three months' salaries to laid-off employees, has faced condemnation from journalist unions and the IFJ.
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