Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists Workers President Shamim Shahid and Secretary General Raja Riaz have appealed to journalists across the country, especially the officials of different factions of PFUJ, to set aside their differences and celebrate the Platinum Golden Jubilee celebrations of the union in a unified manner.
The officials of PFUJ workers recalled that by laying the foundation of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists in August 1950, Pakistani journalists had the honour of establishing the first organisation of working journalists at the global level. Now there is a need for Pakistan to try to revive these efforts of the founding leaders of the Federal Union of Journalists, especially the late Zafarullah Chaudhry and the late Abdul Shakoor, at a time when media institutions are shrinking all over the world.
Not thousands but millions of journalists and workers associated with the newspaper industry are facing unemployment and starvation. He reminded that the founding leaders of PFUJ, especially the late Minhaj Muhammad Khan Barna, Nisar Usmani, AH Rashid, Sheikh Abdul Quddus, Abdul Hameed Chapra, Ahfaz-ur-Rehman, Shaukat Pervez and others had made a lot of effort and sacrifices for the protection of the rights of working journalists and employees associated with the newspaper industry.
Unfortunately, after the imposition of martial law in 1977, PFUJ was divided by none other than the powerful state institutions. Later, at the invitation of the late Rahimullah Yousafzai, Minhaj Barna, Nisar Usmani, AH Rashid, and Abdul Hameed Chapra succeeded in uniting and organising it anew in Peshawar in 1989.
However, in November 2013, this effective organisation of working journalists once again fell victim to factionalism. He said that at present, PFUJ is divided into more than half a dozen factions. Shamim Shahid and Raja Riaz appealed to the officials of all factions to unite and proposed the formation of a committee under the leadership of Mazhar Abbas and Khurshid Abbasi, in which all provinces and factions are represented.
This committee should not only focus on uniting all factions but also celebrate the platinum golden jubilee of PFUJ in a befitting manner across the country. Shamim Shahid and Raja Riaz appealed to the government, especially the leaders of all democratic and progressive-minded political parties, including the Pakistan Peoples Party and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, to help end the factionalism of PFUJ.
They also appealed to activists, journalists, human rights organisations and intellectuals who believe in the supremacy of the constitution and parliament from across the country to cooperate in uniting and organising PFUJ.
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