Pakistan Federal Union of Journalist (PFUJ) has expressed deep concern over the alarming increase of coronavirus cases in media houses across the country.

In a joint statement PFUJ President Shehzada Zulfiqar, and Secretary General Nasir Zaidi said that since the outbreak of COVID-19, most of the journalists have been covering coronavirus-related news without proper equipment, consequently several journalists have tested positive, while three of them lost their lives.

They warned owners of media houses to immediately put in place measures for the safety and security of working journalists and media workers otherwise they will be held responsible for the loss of lives of journalists due to the pandemic.

It is prime responsibility of the owners to take effective measures for the protection of employees working with their media houses as per guidelines issued by the government of Pakistan and district management. They also asked the government to ensure implementation of the safety guidelines.

The PFUJ demanded provision of protection equipment for the frontline journalists and media workers to enable them perform their duties in a safe way. The PFUJ also demanded that the heirs of journalists, who lost their lives to coronavirus be paid one million rupees compensation amount at the earliest as announced by the government.-PR