ISLAMABAD, Jan 31: Elections for office-bearers of five affiliated unions of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) were held on Wednesday.

According to a press release, polling was held in Rawalpindi, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar and Faisalabad. Elections in Quetta and Abbottabad could not be held due to some organisational problems and would now be held in the second week of February.

Afzal Butt and Ashfaq Sajid have been re-elected president and general secretary of the Rawalpindi-Islamabad Union of Journalists (RIUJ), Khurshid Tanweer and Khurshid Abbasi of the Karachi Union of Journalists (KUJ), and Shahzad Butt and Naim Hanif of the Punjab Union of Journalists (PUJ).

Sohail Qalandar and Khalid Khan Kheshgi have been elected president and general secretary of the Khyber Union of Journalists and Ajmal Malik and Mohammad Yaseen of the Faisalabad Union of Journalists (FUJ).

According to the press release, the largest turnout was witnessed in Lahore and Peshawar, where over 90 per cent of PFUJ members cast their votes.

PFUJ president Syed Huma Ali and secretary general Mazhar Abbas, in a joint statement, congratulated the newly-elected office-bearers.

They urged the newly elected bodies to get ready for a new phase of struggle for freedom of the press, rule of law in the country, implementation of the 7th Wage Board Award and better working conditions in the media industry.