P E S H A W A R : Condemning the suspension of the licence of a private TV channel, scores of journalists and political workers staged a protest on Monday against Pakistan Electronic Media Regulation Authority (Pemra) and demanded withdrawal of the decision.

The protest was held under the aegis of Khyber Union of Journalists (KhUJ). The protesters were holding banners and placards inscribed with demands for withdrawal of the Pemra`s decision and in support of freedom of expression.

They gathered outside Peshawar Press Club and chanted slogans in favour of their demands.

Speaking on the occasion, KhUJ president Saiful Islam Saifi and former provincial minister of Jamaat-i-Islami Kashif Azam said that suspension of TV licence was aimed at suppressing media.

They said that a conspiracy was being hatched to render the journalists jobless.

Mr Saifi threatened that KhUJ would extend its protest to other parts of the country and launch a countrywide movement against Pemra if licence of the TV channel was not restored immediately. He said that successive governments had tried to suppress media and block freedom of expression.

Kashif Azam demanded of the government to restore the licence to the TV channel otherwise political workers would also join the series of protest demonstrations across the country. The government would be responsible for any untoward incident, he added.

Meanwhile, transgender community of Peshawar and representatives of Pakhtunkhwa Civil Society Network (PCSN) also condemned suspension of the licence of TV channel and held a protest in Gulbahar.

They were carrying placards and banners inscribed with different slogans against the government.

The protesters were led by Farzana Jan, president of Transaction Alliance and Taimur Kamal, provincial coordinator of PCSN.

They said that ban on news channels and media was acts of a dictator which could not be tolerated at any cost. They demanded of the government to immediately restore the licence of the TV channel.