After Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-supporting reporter Siddique Jan’s arrest, the party’s supporters have been accusing the current ruling coalition government of using excessive force against its opponents and critics, forgetting how independent journalists were severely persecuted under the PTI-led government when Imran Khan was the prime minister.
In 2021, Reporters Without Borders, an international media watchdog, listed Imran Khan among the “predators of press freedom”.
Senior journalists, including former chairman of the Pakistan Electronic Media Authority (PEMRA) Absar Alam, Matiullah Jan, Bilal Farooqi, and Asad Ali Toor among others faced violence and persecution during the PTI government.
Women journalists witnessed a surge in verbal abuse online during Imran Khan’s tenure. Gharida Farooqi recently opened up about the harassment she had to endure as a woman journalist in Pakistan in a report by The Washington Post, These women journalists were doing their jobs. That made them targets, especially from PTI trolls.
Absar Alam:
Senior journalist and former PEMRA chairman Absar Alam was shot near his residence in Islamabad on April 20, 2021.
Absar had suffered injuries to his ribs.
Matiullah Jan:
Senior journalist Matiullah Jan was abducted on July 21, 2020, from Islamabad’s Sector G-6 in broad daylight. He was released the same day by unidentified persons.
He was blindfolded and taken to an unknown location after his kidnapping. He was released after 12 hours of being kidnapped.
Bilal Farooqi:
Senior journalist Bilal Farooq was taken into custody from his home in Karachi’s DHA neighbourhood by Defence police on September 11, 2020, over his social media posts that were allegedly critical of the military and promoted sectarian hatred.
Asad Ali Toor:
Islamabad-based journalist Asad Ali Toor was attacked on May 26, 2021, in Islamabad. Unidentified assailants broke into his house and physically assaulted the journalist. The assailants also questioned him on his sources of “funding”.
