Nukta’s sudden firing of 37 employees exposes yet another real estate-backed media collapse in Pakistan. From Daily Jinnah to Aik News, developer-run channels keep failing, leaving journalists jobless and trust shattered.
Aap Land Baichein, Media Workers Kay Mustaqbil Se Khulwar Mat Karein!
By Imran Malik
So, Nukta fired 37 people — and the media fraternity gasped. But let’s be honest, what’s new here? The same déjà vu keeps haunting Pakistani journalism like a poorly written sequel. From Daily Jinnah to Aik News, and nearly Express News before its miraculous survival — the story repeats itself with different logos and the same fate.
When Nukta launched, it had that same flashy developer-style confidence: glass offices, imported furniture, and promises taller than Bahria’s billboards. Everyone knew this Titanic was built on real estate dust — and just like the others, it sank faster than an unpaid camera crew’s morale.
You see, when you buy land by the koryoun kay bhao (truckloads) and sell it lakhoun rupay marla, patience becomes a rare commodity. Developers like Malik Riaz and his clones were never trained in “sabr.” They know how to launch a housing scheme, not a newsroom. When the real estate cash dries up, the newsroom becomes the first plot they auction off.
And this isn’t just about Nukta. A few days ago, people were let go from Al-Kabir Developers’ News One too. It’s a pattern: developers jump into media with the same enthusiasm they use to install a new gate on a housing scheme — loud, shiny, and absolutely clueless about journalism.
The result? They treat journalists like site workers and channels like marketing tools to twist narratives, pressure institutions, and inflate egos. But dear “developers,” here’s a humble request: please don’t experiment with people’s careers. Sell your land, flip your plots, but don’t flip the lives of media workers.
Media isn’t your billboard. It’s a public trust — a space built with ethics, not excavators. You can’t bulldoze credibility the way you bulldoze land.
On the other hand, in a swift response to the crisis for media workers, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar announced that the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MOITT) would provide jobs to all 37 laid-off employees. The minister stated that the government stands with the journalists and media workers, ensuring their livelihoods are protected.
But here’s the irony — Attaullah Tarar couldn’t turn PTV into a top-rated network despite unlimited state funding and institutional backing. And now, instead of fixing what’s broken under his own ministry, he’s point-scoring with the Bahria Group, offering symbolic jobs to appear as the savior of journalists. When performance fails, optics take over — and in today’s Pakistan, optics pay better than output.
Developers must realize — you can sell plots, not principles. Leave journalism to journalists. Build your housing empires, but stop turning newsrooms into your next commercial projects. Because every time a channel like Nukta collapses, it’s not just a business failure — it’s another crack in the fragile wall that protects the truth.
So please, stay in your lane — literally. Baichain apni zameen, lagayein apni files per tyres, lekin media ko apni dhaal na banayein. Because journalism is not a housing project, and media workers are not your “plots” to play with.
📍The truth may not sell per marla, but it still deserves a home.
