Senior PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry tweeted that a group of journalists were allegedly conspiring against the Pakistani judiciary, and that his party was making a list of these journalists. The former law minister and information minister specifically mentioned Geo News and "journalists associated with a specific WhatsApp group" of "working day and night against the Supreme Court" of Pakistan.
https://twitter.com/fawadchaudhry/status/1642030339009789953
Journalists and civil society activists have long complained of harassment - on social media and in real life - from PTI supporters. PTI leaders, including former premier Imran Khan himself, are known for making controversial - and at times unbecoming - statements against journalists. Party leaders, workers, supporters and online promoters frequently justify attempts to harass and intimidate anyone who disagrees with the PTI narrative.
Seizing the opportunity to point out the irony in Fawad's tweet, journalist A. Waheed Murad was quick to remind netizens of what senior lawyer Hamid Khan thought of the PTI senior vice president.
https://twitter.com/awaheedmurad/status/1642053595309776898
Others were much more reserved and measured in their response to Fawad Chaudhry's tweet. Seasoned journalist Shahbaz Rana asked what was the purpose of making such a list, tweeting that "PTI has to decide whether it’s a political party or an armed group that is out to threaten journalists".
Rana went on to write that people should be allowed have their own views, and if the PTI had irrefutable evidence that journalists were taking money then Fawad should share it publicly and he (Shahbaz Rana) would raise his voice with Fawad.
https://twitter.com/81ShahbazRana/status/1642035742011473921
Journalists Abbas Nasir lamented at how tragic it was, that a former journalist and now mainstream politician would be making a list of journalists - a thinly veiled reference to how 'hit lists' of dissidents and opponents are drawn up to be targeted for harassment, intimidation, or worse.
https://twitter.com/abbasnasir59/status/1642100853245894660
Lahore-based journalist Shahid Hussain urged Fawad Chaudhry to reconsider the move of making a list of journalists that his party perceived to be opposed to the judiciary, and reminded him that "PTI is a political party, not an armed group".
https://twitter.com/journalistlhr/status/1642061220424433664
https://twitter.com/fawadchaudhry/status/1642030339009789953
Journalists and civil society activists have long complained of harassment - on social media and in real life - from PTI supporters. PTI leaders, including former premier Imran Khan himself, are known for making controversial - and at times unbecoming - statements against journalists. Party leaders, workers, supporters and online promoters frequently justify attempts to harass and intimidate anyone who disagrees with the PTI narrative.
Seizing the opportunity to point out the irony in Fawad's tweet, journalist A. Waheed Murad was quick to remind netizens of what senior lawyer Hamid Khan thought of the PTI senior vice president.
https://twitter.com/awaheedmurad/status/1642053595309776898
Others were much more reserved and measured in their response to Fawad Chaudhry's tweet. Seasoned journalist Shahbaz Rana asked what was the purpose of making such a list, tweeting that "PTI has to decide whether it’s a political party or an armed group that is out to threaten journalists".
Rana went on to write that people should be allowed have their own views, and if the PTI had irrefutable evidence that journalists were taking money then Fawad should share it publicly and he (Shahbaz Rana) would raise his voice with Fawad.
https://twitter.com/81ShahbazRana/status/1642035742011473921
Journalists Abbas Nasir lamented at how tragic it was, that a former journalist and now mainstream politician would be making a list of journalists - a thinly veiled reference to how 'hit lists' of dissidents and opponents are drawn up to be targeted for harassment, intimidation, or worse.
https://twitter.com/abbasnasir59/status/1642100853245894660
Lahore-based journalist Shahid Hussain urged Fawad Chaudhry to reconsider the move of making a list of journalists that his party perceived to be opposed to the judiciary, and reminded him that "PTI is a political party, not an armed group".
https://twitter.com/journalistlhr/status/1642061220424433664