On Capital TV's first birthday staff awaits salaries

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 10 April 2014

Capital TV marked its first birthday with celebrations while staff members expressed discontent over unpaid salaries. The channel has faced several operational challenges over the past year.

Summary

ISLAMABAD: Capital TV celebrated its first birthday Thursday with a special transmission and cake cutting ceremonies at various centers.

Exactly this day one year ago, Fahd Hussain, the channel's first Director News and Current Affairs had formally set the ball rolling. While the channel's managers may boast having done really well in their maiden year, the fact is frustration amongst staff members who have not been paid their salaries for several previous months runs high.

According to a JournalismPakistan.com source, the salaries for January were disbursed in February but the staff still awaits payments for March and three salaries from last year are pending.

The situation was summed up in this one single tweet: "Today @CapitalTV_News celebrating its 1st anniversary but its staff r not getting salary for last 6 months, despite earning millions #Shame" (name of the person who tweeted purposely withheld).

Capital TV's journey has seen several hiccups. Days after its launch the channel suffered its first setback when it was taken off air after a guest on one of their live shows insulted the then Army chief Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani.

They were however allowed to resume programming two days later after high-level negotiations and a written apology submitted by the television management with the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA).

Then Yousuf Baig Mirza, who had joined Capital TV quit barely two months after joining the channel from Pakistan Television reportedly due to differences over payment of staff salaries and some other internal issues.

In July last year a First Information Report (FIR) was filed against Capital TV after it broke a story on mega corruption in the EOBI. The Supreme Court took suo moto notice of the scandal after the story was aired.

The channel suspected the many wrong doers and influential people in the scandal had a hand in registration of FIR.

In October, there was a night long strike, the Islamabad employees protesting the inordinate delay in disbursement of salaries. The strike was called off after the management gave the workers post-dated cheques.

Also several members of the launch team have quit, among them Fahd Hussain, Nasim Zehra and Urooj Raza and some others.