During the press conference, Azam Khan Swati said, "We will not let ‘handlers’ exert pressure on courts and jeopardize the law and the constitution." Upon this, a journalist asked him to clarify who were the ‘handlers’, to which the PTI leader crossed all barriers of ethics and resorted to ridiculing the journalist and calling him a ‘pimp’.
On May 25 and 26, 2023, multiple media workers were attacked during protests staged by Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) in several cities across Pakistan. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its Pakistan affiliate, the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), condemn the attack on journalists, media workers, and media houses and urge the newly formed Pakistani government to apprehend the perpetrators and further protect journalists.
In Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, and other cities, numerous journalists, cameramen, and photographers were assaulted during the PTI demonstrations.
In Karachi's Numaish Chowrangi area, Asif Hassan, a 45-year-old photographer for Agence France Presse (AFP), was hit in the head by a stone intended for police officers. He was taken to Aga Khan University Hospital, where he received five stitches to treat the wound. Hassan is said to be in stable condition.
Reporters for Samaa TV were also attacked and harassed while covering the demonstrations in Karachi’s Numaish Chowrangi area. Protestors abused female journalists Zamzam Saeed, Yasir Hussain, and cameraperson Imran Khan while they were filming for a news channel.
The DSNG van on the news channel was also pelted with stones as the reporting team returned from interviewing PTI Sindh president Ali Zaidi.
In the capital city of Islamabad, several media vans were damaged.
A similar incident occurred in Lahore's Liberty Chowk when the News DSNG van‘s windows were shattered and the assistant DSNG operator was physically assaulted.
Renowned photojournalist Amjad Hussain was also attacked during the protests.