The death of veteran journalist, poet and trade unionist Minhaj Barna reminds us of the painstaking efforts made by people like him to secure freedom of media in Pakistan; to reach out to people and to speak their language, said Syed Jawaid Iqbal, Chairman Moderates.
He said the late Barna was deeply influenced by the movement of freedom of speech from the days of his youth and was active not only in high-quality journalism but also in campaigning for the rights of journalists as a union leader and later as a counsel for other trade union leaders. "The Pakistani media fraternity has lost a key champion of media rights," Iqbal added. He said Barna's demise not only signified the loss of an icon in the media industry but also the loss of a moderate voice, which could not be silenced even during the most trying times of the nation's history.-PR