ISLAMABAD, Dec 3: A demonstration was held against the tragic death of an employee of a private channel, Mohammad Azam Khan, who committed suicide after non-payment of salary for five months.

Call for countrywide protests had been given by All Pakistan Newspapers Employees Confederation (Apnec) and Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ).

The protesters demanded probe into the death and punishment to those responsible.

Speaking on the occasion, PFUJ Senior Vice-President Fauzia Shahid, Secretary-General Mazhar Abbas, Rawalpindi-Islamabad Union of Journalists (RIUJ) Mohammad Afzal Butt, Senior Vice-President Shahryar Khan, local Apnec chairman Ikram Bukhari, National Workers Organisation (NOW) President Kaleem Shamim and C.R. Shamsi termed the tragic death as a murder and demanded registration of a case against the management of the private TV channel.

They lamented that non-implementation of laws in newspapers and TV channels was resulting in economic murder of journalists and workers.

The PFUJ secretary-general, Mazhar Abbas, announced setting up of protest camps across the country.

Meanwhile, Apnec and PFUJ, in a statement, urged the Punjab and federal governments to take immediate action against those responsible for the death of Mohammad Azam and ensure payment of salaries to the workers in different newspapers and channels.

“If the working conditions are not improved in the media industry there can be more suicide incidents,” the two apex bodies of the newspapers employees warned.

They demanded of the federal government to link the advertisement of the said group with regular payment of salaries and the same standard should also be applied on other newspapers as well.

Apnec and PFUJ have given countrywide protest call on Thursday against the non-implementation of the 7th Wage Award, sacking of hundreds of employees from print and electronic media and action against those responsible for Azam’s death.

Protest rallies and Ghaibana Namaz-i-Janaza were held in different cities including Lahore, Islamabad, Karachi and Peshawar. Central and local leadership of PFUJ-Apnec and affiliated unions participated in the rallies.