Islamabad: MNN
The financial crisis facing Pakistan’s private television channel Aaj News, including the alleged delay in the payment of salaries and employee dues, has reached the federal government.
Vice President of the National Press Club Islamabad Usman Khan, along with senior parliamentary journalists and media representatives, contacted Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Atta Tarar to brief him on the financial difficulties being faced by Aaj News employees.
According to sources, the journalists informed the minister that the channel’s employees were facing severe hardship due to the management’s alleged financial mismanagement. They urged the government to take effective action against media organizations that fail to pay salaries and outstanding dues to their employees on time.
During the virtual meeting, media representatives also called on the government to review, and if necessary suspend, official advertising for media organizations that do not fulfill their financial obligations to employees, in order to protect journalists’ rights.
Minister Atta Tarar informed the delegation that the federal government had already cleared outstanding payments owed to media houses, adding that the responsibility for paying employees now rests with the respective managements.
The Information Minister assured the delegation that he would personally contact the management of the relevant television channels and work toward resolving the issue. He further indicated that media organizations failing to clear employees’ dues could face suspension of future government advertisements if the matter remains unresolved.
The journalists welcomed the minister’s assurance and stressed the need for a permanent and effective mechanism to safeguard the financial rights of journalists and media workers, ensuring that such situations do not recur in the future.