PFUJ body discusses steps for consensus between two groups

ISLAMABAD: The PFUJ Unification Committee (UC) which met at the Lahore Press Club on Thursday discussed in detail various steps to be taken to develop a broad based consensus and unity among the Union members on the logistics for reviving a unified body of Pakistan’s premier trade union—the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists, says a press release received here. 

One suggestion that appeared to be more practical and whose implementation also appeared less time consuming was to hold fresh elections of PFUJ office bearers using the same electoral college that had voted in the election of 2013. The suggestion further opined that the body thus elected through this process would have the limited mandate of holding new elections at the earliest after having completed the process of scrutinising the electoral lists of all the UJ’s that had existed prior to the 2013 elections. 

Meanwhile, the UC will carry out a thorough investigation into the controversy about the results of the elections and allegations against some members in 2013 elections.

However, the process of holding of fresh election by an election commission appointed for the purpose by the UC will not be allowed to be held hostage to the completion of the investigation. If the process remained unfinished the revived PFUJ elected body could complete the task.

The UC members made it clear that since it is not a constitutional body but one with only limited mandate given to it by the well wishers of the PFUJ and underpinned by a moral authority reposed in the UC by a cross section of journalist community of the country, its verdict as to who was actually to be blamed would carry no constitutional writ and therefore would attract unnecessary controversy and divisive debates.   

The UC members were earlier briefed by a group of journalists with documentary and audio-visual evidence on its version of how the 2013 polls were conducted and subsequently became disputed. The UC members requested for the copies of all the evidence presented during the briefing for conducting its own investigations.

The UC members were greatly encouraged and also felt extremely grateful to the Lahore journalist community and also to the Lahore Press Club office bearers for their offer of cooperation and hospitality. 

The UC members were earlier given a two-hour long briefing on the problems and pitfalls now facing the entire community particularly those that the Punjab Union of Journalists is confronted with. All those who spoke on the occasion reposed full confidence in the Unification Committee and assured to abide by all its decisions in good faith. Khawar Naeem Hashmi who hosted the UC visit to Lahore conducted the two-hour long general briefing on the occasion.

The UC members comprising M. Ziauddin (Chairman), IA Rehman, Hussain Naqi, Salman Ghani, Arif Bhatti, Khawar Naeem Hashmi and Shahidur Rehman were present on the occasion. Mr. Ghani and Mr. Bhatti were included in the UC for achieving unanimity on its decisions.  Rahimmulah YousufZai, Habib Khan Ghori, Siddique Baloch and Nasir Malick could not attend the meeting because of their respective professional engagements. They were briefed about these meetings later on telephone.