Journalist Ejaz Butt suffers double blow

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 7 June 2019

Ejaz Butt, a prominent journalist, has been terminated from Jehan Pakistan after a conflict with the Governor's staff regarding a stolen phone. Journalists are calling for his reinstatement following the incident.

Summary

LAHORE—Various journalist unions and media rights organizations have demanded the reinstatement of Ejaz Butt as the chief reporter of Jehan Pakistan newspaper, Lahore after being reportedly terminated following a complaint by the office of Governor Punjab, Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar.

According to Butt’s colleagues, he went for iftar at the Governor's House where someone stole his mobile phone. He brought the incident to the notice of the governor and his staff issued instructions to the law enforcing authorities to trace the lost phone.

As a precautionary measure, Butt called the police helpline 15 and reported the theft while a local TV channel aired the news.

Reportedly, this act on his part was not liked by the governor’s staff who thought it had brought a bad name to the Governor House.

The Governor House staffers lodged a complaint with the management of Jehan Pakistan which terminated the journalist, without issuing a show-cause notice and hearing him.

Butt says though he was legally bound to register his complaint with 15, he did not make it a matter of ego and withdrew it on May 16, just a day after getting it registered. But despite this goodwill gesture, he has not been reinstated.