HYDERABAD: A day after facing embarrassment due to the boycott of his presser in Karachi, Federal Railways Minister Shaikh Rashid Ahmed confronted an identical situation on his arrival at the Hyderabad railway station as journalists boycotted his scheduled media briefing and staged a strong protest outside the Hyderabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry office where he attended a programme on Saturday.

He was escorted to his car by the railway and district police during the protest against the federal government’s indifference to the plight of journalists.

The protest was organised under the aegis of the Joint Action Committee, a conglomerate of various factions of journalists’ unions, associations of cameramen and photographers. It was working under the umbrella of the Hyderabad Press Club. While the journalists had been conveyed the timing of the media briefing, they decided to boycott it and lodge their protest.

Published in Dawn, February 17th, 2019