ISLAMABAD: The Paki­stan Federal Union of Journ­alists (PFUJ) presented its charter of demands to the government on Sunday, calling for an end to “state persecution of journalists”.

A PFUJ delegation led by its president, Shahzada Zulfiqar, presented the char­ter of demands to Mub­ashir Hassan Khan, Prin­cipal Information Officer of the Press Information Depa­rtment (PID), at the National Press Club.

Other members of the delegation were: Nasir Zaidi, the secretary general, and Afzal Butt, president of the National Press Club.

The 20-point charter seeks resolution of issues confronting the media and journalists.

The demands include an end to policies that led to fin­a­ncial crisis in the industry.

The document called upon the federal, as well as the four provincial governments, to withdraw all cases and FIRs registered against journalists and to refrain from initiating further police cases.

The delegation told the PIO that the PFUJ, its allied unions and press clubs wanted to solve problems being faced by journalists and other media workers. These include restoration of pay cuts imposed during the financial crisis, implementation of the eighth wage award, clearance of Rs 6 billion outstanding dues of media houses, formulation of a `transparent’ advertisement policy, steps for revival of regional newspapers, measures for ensuring safety of journalist and arrest of those who are involved in crimes against journalists.

The delegation called upon the government to hold an urgent dialogue with all the stakeholders so that a comprehensive plan could be chalked out for revival of the media industry.

Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2022