Contested Elections to Unite Journalists, Not for the Chair — Shahid Akhtar Awan

Haripur (Hum Gawah) Shahid Akhtar Awan, President of the Working Journalists Panel, said that his aim in contesting the elections was not to secure a chair, but to unite the journalist community on one platform. Unfortunately, he said, incompetent individuals who walk holding the hands of politicians have turned journalism into nothing more than a personal shelter.He stated that last year’s elections were held on the orders of the court, but due to political interference, the winning panel today does not even have the courage to step inside the Press Club. Their silence despite winning, he added, proves that they are cowards — as they sit and drink tea with the same DPO under whose tenure a false FIR was registered against a journalist, handcuffs were put on him, and his reputation was tarnished, yet they dare not question it.Shahid Akhtar Awan revealed that both groups have now united against him, but he has never done anything wrong in the past, nor will he in the future. Within just three weeks, two complaints were filed against him with the police, and he, along with his team, visited the City Police Station twice to respond to them. He vowed to fight a legal battle against both complainants.