Journalists in Sylhet boycott State Minister Humaiun Kobir over alleged harassment by party activists

Local television journalists in Sylhet on Friday decided to boycott news coverage of State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir and the local BNP, after several media workers were harassed by political activists at the Hazrat Shahjalal Shrine.

Kobir, visiting Sylhet for the first time since taking office as state minister, offered prayers at the shrine after Jummah prayers. According to a pre-scheduled program, he was supposed to brief the media at the shrine's premises.

To facilitate the departure of devotees, mainstream media workers positioned themselves near the main gate. However, due to intense crowding and pushing by political activists, the journalists were forced to move outside the shrine area. At that point, a group of youths chanting "Ziar Sainik Ek Ho" attacked and harassed them.

Nabil Hossain, a journalist for Jamuna Television, condemned the incident on Facebook, noting that the harassers aggressively questioned how the media dared to leave without taking the minister's statement. He added that multiple media workers faced isolated harassment at the scene.

Star News Sylhet Bureau Chief Yahya Maruf said the journalists moved outside due to the chaotic crowd. "Some BNP activists then set upon us and misbehaved with the television journalists," Maruf said.

Following the incident, local television journalists unanimously decided to abstain from covering any future programs of both State Minister Kabir and the local BNP.

Meanwhile, Sylhet WASA Chairman and BNP central Assistant Organizing Secretary Miftah Siddiqui, along with Sylhet City BNP General Secretary Imdad Hossain Chowdhury, could not be reached for comment as they did not answer their phones.