A three-member delegation from the Pakistan Peoples Party led by central information secretary Nadeem Afzal Chan visited the National Press Club to condemn the police entry that violated the institution’s sanctity and targeted journalists. The delegation, which included Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmad and Ayesha Nawaz, met with the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists president Afzal Butt, National Press Club president Azhar Jatoi and secretary Naeer Ali to hear a detailed account of the incident and to express solidarity with the press community.
The PPP delegation strongly denounced the reported brutal treatment of journalists inside the club, including the breaking of cameras and mobile phones, and called the episode an assault on press freedom. Delegation members emphasized that freedom of the press is integral to democratic life in Pakistan and warned that shrinking civic liberties require coordinated political response to safeguard journalists and their institutions.
Afzal Butt briefed the visitors on the sequence of events and outlined the main demands the press groups are presenting to the government. The central demand, he told the delegation, is a clear prohibition on police entry into any press club to prevent a repeat of such incidents. He also urged creation of a joint action committee composed of representatives from the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, and elected press club officials to handle future disputes and protection measures.
Azhar Jatoi underlined that the National Press Club represents journalists from Rawalpindi and Islamabad to Gilgit and Karachi and must remain a safe space for reporting and public expression. Naeer Ali said the attack not only wounded the journalist community but also damaged the traditions of democratic expression that press clubs embody, where citizens and the marginalized come to voice their grievances.
The PPP leaders expressed full support for the charter of demands submitted by journalists and pledged to work with their parliamentary leader to table a resolution in the National Assembly to protect the sanctity of press clubs. By backing legal safeguards and a joint oversight mechanism, the delegation intends to translate concern into concrete steps to strengthen press freedom and ensure that journalists can perform their duties without fear of harassment or violence.
