The assault of a journalist by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters outside Adiala Jail marks a grim déjà vu for the political party and its behavior toward journalists.
The ugly scenes unfolded as former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s sister, Aleema, sought to deliver her brother’s latest missive after attending court proceedings. At the outset, Bol TV reporter Tayyab Baloch reiterated his plea for Aleema to condemn the harassment he has been facing since questioning her about the provenance of alleged properties in the United States. In response, he was verbally abused by PTI leader Naeem Panjutha, shoved to the ground, beaten, and had his phone and mic smashed. Journalists then staged a boycott of the press conference; the PTI’s sympathetic “digital media” representatives continued to provide coverage.
Police have since registered an FIR against Aleema, Panjutha and other PTI workers over the assault, while the National Press Club has issued a call for a protest against the party. On social media, however, outrage and spin are in full flow, echoing far too many similar events of the past.
During its 2014 dharna, PTI and allied protesters repeatedly targeted news crews. Protesters stormed state broadcaster PTV, forcing it off air and beating staff; Geo and Jang media teams were harassed, vans stoned, cameras smashed; women reporters singled out for abuse. Rather than isolated scuffles, these events formed a pattern around PTI rallies that blurred anger at opponents into hostility toward the press. This week’s rationalizations are no different.
Supporters have framed the Adiala episode as a response to “provocative questions,” while sympathetic accounts online have alleged the journalist was “planted” or part of an “agenda,” a classic strawman to delegitimize reporting and sanitize violence. According to Baloch, PTI supporters had circulated images of him and other reporters online for propaganda, marking them for harassment. This isn’t new. In 2022, PTI founder Khan told journalists anchorperson Gharida Farooqi was “bound to be harassed” if she entered male-dominated spaces. A potential moment for reflection and accountability for harassers became a venue for normalizing a blame-the-reporter logic. Such views also validate Reporters Without Borders explicitly listing Imran Khan as a press “predator since taking office” and documenting censorship, intimidation and trolling armies targeting critical journalists during his tenure.
Let’s be clear: there can be no justification—none—for political supporters laying hands on a journalist doing his job, whether he’s asking softballs or questions that sting. “Provocation” is no defense to violence. Nor is the lazy smear that reporters are “planted” or “agenda-driven.” Those who believe a question is unfair can choose to answer it, refuse to, or walk away. They cannot beat the questioner.
In recent years, the PTI has made it a point to paint itself as an antidote to fascism. If it is sincere in this claim, it must stop indulging in fascistic habits: mobbing critics, creating hostile crowds for women reporters, and delegitimizing the press as an enemy. That starts with disciplining those named in the FIR, apologizing without qualification, and publicly instructing supporters that journalists are off-limits. A party that claims democratic virtue cannot keep outsourcing its rage to fists while blaming the press for standing too close.
The test of leadership is not how loudly one rails against authoritarianism, but how firmly one protects the people whose work keeps power honest. On that test, PTI must do better.