Journalists walk out of PA press gallery for delay in F-block plots

The journalists demanded that the 300 members of the Lahore Press Club who are entitled to allotment of plots under the Punjab Housing foundation Act have been subjected to delaying tactics for the last three years.They also demanded action to free the plots illegally occupied by unscrupulous elements in the B-block of the Journalist Colony.PPP leader Raja Riaz also walked out in solidarity with the protesting journalists. He said that the PPP would not leave the journalists alone and walkout would continue until the 300 F-block journalists are given their due right and the B-block is freed from Qabza mafia.The PML-Q members later joined the protesting journalists. They assured that walkout would be staged daily until the demands are met.Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif had earlier assured the F-block journalists that they would be allotted plots at all cost. However, the matter remained pending owing to red tape.At least two previous elections of the Lahore Press Club were F-block-centric, while all of the entitled journalists were handed in application forms ahead of the last LPC elections, only to add insult to injuries as it added hope to the 300 families of journalists who have been dreaming of a shelter of their own.