LAHORE, Dec 3: Dozens of journalists staged a rally from the Lahore Press Club to the office of a private TV channel on Lawrence Road and staged a sit-in there on Wednesday to protest the channel’s failure in giving salaries to its staff and the suicide of one of its technicians because of extreme poverty.

Muhammad Azam, a technician with Channel 5, had committed suicide in his house on Tuesday night after the channel did not give him salary for four consecutive months and it became impossible for him to feed his family.

Carrying placards and banners, protesters gathered at the club on the call of the Punjab Union of Journalists and the Lahore Press Club at around 3:30pm and marched toward the channel’s office. They raised slogans against the channel owner and the administration for depriving employees of their rights and demanded legal action against them. They asked the administration to immediately release channel staff’s salaries.

Later, National Assembly Member Hamza Shahbaz visited Azam’s house in Bhagatpura, Shadbagh, and condoled his death. He said he would take up the issue in the parliament.

Azam was the sole breadwinner for his family.