LAHORE: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday abruptly cancelled a meeting with senior journalists at Governor House, drawing criticism from different journalist organisations.
Well-informed sources told this scribe that senior journalists were invited for a meeting with the premier over the performance of the incumbent government.
“Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar and Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan accompanied the premier in Lahore for a one-day visit and had invited the journalists to meet him,” sources said.
“A number of senior journalists, including editors, bureau chiefs and analysts were there before the PM’s arrival but the meeting was cancelled at the last minute without any reason,” sources added.
Sources informed that a possible reason for the cancellation of the meeting could be the law and order situation of the province and the poor performance of health and education departments. “Our guess is that the premier was afraid to face the questions over his party’s poor performance in the province,” sources added.
Different journalist organisations, including the Punjab Union of Journalists (PUJ) criticised the premier’s decision to cancel the meeting with senior journalists. “The prime minister insulted senior journalists by inviting them for a meeting and then cancelling it without offering any reason. We condemn this move on behalf of the entire journalist community,” PUJ said.
