Cyril Almeida will no longer be continuing his widely read and feisty columns for Dawn. He announced it on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/cyalm/status/1185930491091914752
This comes soon after a relatively long hiatus from his column in the aftermath of the Dawn Leaks row. Regular readers had been thrilled to see that Almeida had just recently continued his commentary and analysis for Dawn. It was not to last.
Prominent voices in mainstream Pakistani media and social media have expressed sadness about the resignation. Veteran Dawn editors took the lead,, with Zaffar Abbas tweeting out:
https://twitter.com/abbasz55/status/1185958510657495042
Asad Hashim, meanwhile, pointed out that veteran editor Abbas Nasir will replace Cyril Almeida's column space in Dawn:
https://twitter.com/AsadHashim/status/1185801597781250048
While many commentators on social media simply expressed their disappointment on being unable to read Almeida's columns any more, there have also been those who questioned whether pressure from powerful quarters may have been the reason for his resignation. MNA Mohsin Dawar's tweet best summed up such concerns:
https://twitter.com/mjdawar/status/1186151690220834817
In an interesting exchange with Najam Sethi, in fact, Almeida himself lent credence to such speculation. Responding to Sethi's invitation that he move his commentary and columns to weekly The Friday Times, Almeida responded:
https://twitter.com/cyalm/status/1185960174571401221
https://twitter.com/cyalm/status/1185930491091914752
This comes soon after a relatively long hiatus from his column in the aftermath of the Dawn Leaks row. Regular readers had been thrilled to see that Almeida had just recently continued his commentary and analysis for Dawn. It was not to last.
Prominent voices in mainstream Pakistani media and social media have expressed sadness about the resignation. Veteran Dawn editors took the lead,, with Zaffar Abbas tweeting out:
https://twitter.com/abbasz55/status/1185958510657495042
Asad Hashim, meanwhile, pointed out that veteran editor Abbas Nasir will replace Cyril Almeida's column space in Dawn:
https://twitter.com/AsadHashim/status/1185801597781250048
While many commentators on social media simply expressed their disappointment on being unable to read Almeida's columns any more, there have also been those who questioned whether pressure from powerful quarters may have been the reason for his resignation. MNA Mohsin Dawar's tweet best summed up such concerns:
https://twitter.com/mjdawar/status/1186151690220834817
In an interesting exchange with Najam Sethi, in fact, Almeida himself lent credence to such speculation. Responding to Sethi's invitation that he move his commentary and columns to weekly The Friday Times, Almeida responded:
https://twitter.com/cyalm/status/1185960174571401221