Journalists boycott joint sitting
ISLAMABAD: Journalists covering the joint session of parliament staged a walkout from the gallery on Monday to protest against non-payment of salaries by some television channels and newspapers and suspension of grants to two news agencies.
The journalists also demanded fulfillment of pledges regarding provision of facilities to journalists covering the parliament.
Minister for Information and Broadcasting Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan and Law Minister Moula Bakhsh Chandio talked to the agitating journalists and assured them that their grievances would be addressed by a committee comprising representatives of the Parliament, information ministry and journalists.
The information minister said the issue of non-payment of salaries to journalists would be taken up with APNS saying that a mechanism would be devised so that they continue to get salaries uninterrupted.
She also held out an assurance that the issue of suspension of grant of two news agencies would also be taken up with the concerned authorities and hoped that it would be resolved. Dr Firdous repeated these assurances on the floor of the House and the journalists resumed coverage of the proceedings.
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