Government stands by media workers, minister tells protesting journalists

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 11 December 2018

Protesting journalists in Islamabad raise concerns over wage delays and layoffs. Minister Fawad Chaudhry assures support for media workers from the government.

Summary

ISLAMABAD – Members of the Parliamentary Reporters Association (PRA) on Tuesday walked out of the National Assembly Press Gallery to protest wage delays, layoffs, and threats to media workers.

Qurban Baloch, President of PRA, told the Minister of Information Fawad Chaudhry (pictured) that the media owners had not stopped sacking employees besides not paying them their wages.

MNAs Zartaj Gul and Andleeb Abbas were also present.

Fawad Chaudhry assured the protesting journalists that the PTI government stands by the workers.

He told the protesters the media houses’ advertising bill runs back to the tenures of Pervez Musharraf, Asif Ali Zardari, and Nawaz Sharif.

He pointed out that the media houses were not the government’s direct clients, but they were the advertising agencies. The Punjab government he said was releasing a decent sum of money to the news organizations.

Although the government is pressed for money, it still supports the media workers, the minister said.