ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Monday said that the federal government would suspend advertisements for Suno News for forcibly sacking employees.
He announced during the conversation with the reporters after the Parliamentary Reporters Association (PRA) staged a walkout from the proceedings of the National Assembly and Senate over the dismissal of employees from media outlets.
Tarar added that he would also request provincial governments to halt advertisements for the channel.
He said advertisements would remain suspended until issues faced by the channel’s employees were resolved, stressing that workers’ rights and unpaid salaries could not be ignored.
Later, talking in the National Assembly, he said that orders have been issued to stop advertisements of one channel, while one channel has not been paying salaries for three months, we will talk with them.
Earlier, it was reported that the private news channel, Suno, terminated around 170 employees with immediate effect without disbursing April salaries.
Those laid off included Islamabad, Lahore, and Karachi bureau staff, reporters, cameramen, senior copy editors, technical department employees, drivers, receptionists, and makeup artists.
Sources said that six reporters and four cameramen from the Islamabad bureau were among those affected, along with 10 staff members from the technical department.
Several current affairs programmes were also taken off air following the layoffs, sources added. The channel has not yet issued an official statement regarding the development.
