Salary dispute leads to firing of three Daily Mashriq reporters

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 18 October 2012 |  JP Staff Reporter

A salary dispute at Daily Mashriq resulted in the termination of three reporters. Tensions escalated after threatening communications were sent to the newspaper's owner.

Summary

PESHAWAR: Three reporters of Urdu-language Daily Mashriq have been fired following a row over salaries with the newspaper’s owner Syed Ayaz Badshah.

The reporting team at the paper, one of the leading publications in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, was demanding raises and other incentives.

According to insiders, the reporters told the management to either enhance their salaries or lay them off. However, the managers remained unmoved.

This upset the reporters and one of them reportedly sent threatening emails and text messages to the owner Ayaz Badshah. He was threatened Taliban were looking for him while another staffer claimed he had stopped them (the Taliban) from taking action against Badshah.

As a result of these developments, three reporters were sacked. More sackings in the days ahead look likely.

Mashriq’s sister English-language newspaper is Daily The Statesman.

KEY POINTS:

• Three reporters at Daily Mashriq were terminated over salary demands.
• The management refused to enhance salaries, leading to tensions.
• One reporter reportedly sent threats regarding Taliban involvement.
• The incident may lead to further layoffs in the organization.
• Daily Mashriq is a prominent newspaper in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.