When the Press Is Beaten, Democracy Bleeds
When questions are met with fists, democracy itself is under assault.
The commotion outside Adiala Jail on Monday should alarm every citizen who cherishes democratic norms. What began as a routine media talk by PTI founder Imran Khan’s sister, Aleema Khan, swiftly degenerated into hostility. Instead of a free exchange of ideas, journalists were shoved, insulted, and silenced simply for asking questions.
Senior journalist Tayyab Baloch was manhandled by PTI workers when he pressed Aleema Khan with queries they deemed inconvenient. Abuses were hurled; in the scuffle, another elderly reporter was dragged away. The sight of seasoned journalists being attacked in broad daylight is not merely lamentable, it is a stark reminder of the creeping intolerance now poisoning political culture.
Nor was this the first such episode. Only last week, Aleema Khan’s press talk at the same venue collapsed into chaos when two women hurled eggs at her after she declined to answer pointed questions. Rather than learning restraint, party workers appeared to harden their resolve: to dictate what may be asked, and to punish those unwilling to comply.
This behaviour corrodes democracy at its core. Political parties cannot claim legitimacy if they recoil from scrutiny. The press does not exist to applaud, but to interrogate; not to echo party lines, but to test them. Violence and intimidation against journalists reveal not authority but fragility: a fear of accountability masquerading as loyalty.
To silence a question is to wound democracy; to assault a journalist is to cripple it.
It must be said plainly: leaders cannot wash their hands of responsibility. Silence in the face of such outrages amounts to complicity. Every party must ensure its workers engage the press with civility, even when confronted with the most uncomfortable inquiries. To do otherwise is to betray the very principles of pluralism and tolerance they claim to defend.
The danger of normalising such attacks cannot be overstated. If disagreements are resolved through fists and insults rather than arguments and answers, democratic politics will hollow out, leaving only authoritarian reflexes in its place.
The media is not flawless—it can be abrasive, even irresponsible—but violence is no cure. The proper response is dialogue, correction, and lawful accountability. A free press is the oxygen of democracy; suffocating it weakens not just the profession but the entire polity.
The assault on Tayyab Baloch and the humiliation of his colleagues is a stain on our politics. Deny the space for questioning today, and tomorrow there will be no answers left. Political actors must remember: democracy cannot survive in silence. Violence against journalists must be condemned, restrained, and prevented—without exception, without delay.
