Journalists boycotted PTI leaders’ press conference in Islamabad on Friday after seizing the microphones placed on the table in protest against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur’s disparaging remarks about the media fraternity at the Sangjani rally last week.
“What Gandapur said has nothing to do with our politics,” PTI leader Salman Akram Raja said while the reporters present to cover the media talk picked up the microphones. He was accompanied by Senator Shibli Faraz and party leader Raoof Hasan.
They did not budge despite Raj saying that Gandapur would clarify his statements, as they were unaware of his comments.
The controversy began on September 8 during a PTI rally at Sangjani, Islamabad, where the KP chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa made statements against journalists.
Following such statements, several PTI leaders were compelled to apologise. The day after the rally, journalists staged a walkout from the press gallery in Parliament in protest against Gandapur’s speech. Subsequently, Omar Ayub and Shibli Faraz attempted to placate the journalists.
Former prime minister Imran Khan also denounced such comments, calling them “inappropriate.”
In his short press conference, Raja highlighted that there have been no precedents for the recent police actions, questioning the state of an individual whose home was raided without being presented in a police station. “What must be the condition of that person?” he asked.
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Faraz also made inappropriate comments against the protesting journalists earlier in the day, forcing PTI leaders to leave the press conference unfinished due to the protest.
Raja assured the journalists that he would address the issue with Gandapur. He emphasised the “vital role” journalists play in conveying messages to the people, acknowledging their struggles and the challenges they face.
