‘For journalists’ sake’: ARY’s CEO takes charge of BOL TV

Say his first priority is to ensure payment of the employees’ outstanding dues

KARACHI: ARY television’s Chief Operating Officer Salman Iqbal has taken charge of BOL television network and claimed that BOL will start its formal transmission in three weeks.

Addressing the BOL’s employees on Tuesday at BOL’s head office, Iqbal said he could not see thousands of media workers getting jobless and his first priority was to ensure payment of the employees’ outstanding dues.

“My decision is aimed at providing security to the media industry and journalist community,” he said.

He said the arrival of BOL was the first revolution of the media industry while collaboration of ARY and BOL was the second such revolution.

“Neither we want to open any new front nor we have any [hidden] agenda,” he said, adding that the mission of ‘made-in-Pakistan’ will be taken forward for the country’s progress.

He said 15 years back when they thought about starting a TV channel they had only 25 people, 19 of which abandoned them and they had to work with only six people, which are still working
at ARY.

Iqbal said that despite this lack of resources, which compelled him to himself manage lighting and camera, he worked with passion which has taken his organisation to its present status.

The ARY CEO paid rich tributes to BOL team and said the way they had passed these three months of trial reflected their great passion. He promised that he would not only try to provide them with all the facilities which the old management had promised but would also try to offer even better facilities.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 19^th, 2015.