Waqt News sacks all staff, ceases operations
JournalismPakistan.com | Published: 30 October 2018
Join our WhatsApp channel
Waqt News Television has closed its operations after terminating all employees. The decision sparked protests from journalists concerned about job security.Summary
ISLAMABAD – Waqt News Television has sacked all staff and shut down its operations in Pakistan, 10 years after it hit the air waves.
In the run-up to its closure, the management fired hundreds of employees drawing protests from journalist unions.
Earlier this month, Matiullah Jan, one of the channel’s top-rated anchors was shown the door, providing somewhat of an indication of things to come.
On Monday Matiullah tweeted to announce that offices of Waqt News across Pakistan had been closed and staff sacked.
The management terminated as many as 185 employees in a single day last week that brought news operations to a virtual halt.
There was no official word on the channel’s closure.
Angered by a series of sackings of their colleagues, journalists in Lahore had demonstrated outside the Nawa-i-Waqt Building on October 26 and threatened another protest in front of the media group boss Rameeza Majid Nizami’s office.
Waqt News is owned by the Nawa-i-Waqt Media Group.
KEY POINTS:
- Waqt News terminated operations and all staff.
- 185 employees were laid off in a single day.
- Protests erupted in Lahore over the mass sackings.
- The channel's closure follows 10 years on air.
- Matiullah Jan, a prominent anchor, was among those fired.
