New Delhi: In July this year, the Sindh government in Pakistan launched an English media channel—Asia One—to counter what it called ‘Indian disinfo campaign’. Many also tout it to be ‘Al Jazeera of Pakistan’. Six months later, its employees are calling it out on social media for non-payment of salaries.
In a series of posts on X, Pakistani journalists rallied against the news portal, essentially seen as a front for the country’s Army, after a letter went viral where employees were asking the authorities to pay their dues.
The letter said that salaries had not been paid for months and that authorities were “oblivious” to the condition of their workers. Others said that the delay in payment had been attributed to the ministers being busy with the death anniversary of former Pakistan PM Benazir Bhutto.
This has led to a wider discussion on the state of media in the country. Prominent journalist, Matiullah Jan said the channel should be renamed as “Asia (for) One (month) TV”. Others soon joined in.
“#PakMedia is a cesspool of opportunists. Asia One is just another entity masquerading as media (thanks to all non-desi faces on screen) while serving the interest of people who have nothing to do with journalism. At the end of the day its working journalists that suffer the most,” Dawn columnist Sumaira Jaffa tweeted.
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What is Asia One?
Asia One is based in Karachi and owned by Pakistan365 Media Group. The group is reportedly owned by Sharjeel Inam Memon, a prominent politician from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and current Senior Minister in the Sindh government.
The channel was launched in August of this year as a self-styled ‘international’ news network, modelled according to Turkey’s TRT World or Qatar-run Al Jazeera.
Asia One’s LinkedIn profile claims the organisation was founded in 2015 but was registered around June this year post May’s Operation Sindoor.
According to reports, the channel’s director, Naved Qamar, also known as Naveed Khan Baloch, is a former senior editor at TRT World, Turkey’s state-run broadcaster. He is widely believed to have close links with Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). The channel’s editor, Mansoor Waheed Malik, previously led media operations at the ISPR-funded Fauji Foundation until 2019. A key element of Asia One’s strategy is its use of foreign anchors, including Timothy Obiezu from Nigeria, Tom Philpot from the United Kingdom and Angel Murphy from the United States.
When it was launched in August, Pakistanis themselves were skeptical of it and many had predictions of delay in salaries.
“One more “English News Channel” to “influence” global audiences and push our “narratives”. This only happens when you refuse to learn from your previous mistakes (and adventures) and re-launch them again with a new brand to make that 1 boss happy, and a few contractors rich,” Pakistani analyst Hussain Nadim had then said.
He then forecast the future of the channel: “As was with SIFC, Critical Minerals, Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, and several other ‘Feel-Big’ schemes, this news English Channel will also meet the same fate, yet we refuse to learn”.
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)