A scuffle broke out outside Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi during a media talk of Aleema Khan, sister of incarcerated Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, on Monday.
PTI workers engaged in a physical altercation with journalists, which also involved verbal abuse. One journalist was subjected to violence, while others were manhandled by PTI workers.
Following the incident, journalists announced a boycott of Aleema's media talk, saying it was in response to the manhandling and mistreatment they faced at the hands of PTI workers.
Meanwhile, a first information report (FIR) has been registered against PTI leaders, including Aleema, Naeem Haider Panjutha, MPA Tanveer Aslam, and around 40 unidentified workers, over the assault on a journalist outside Adiala Jail.
The FIR was lodged at Saddar Bairooni Police Station on the complaint of the journalist.
According to the journalist’s application, he was standing outside Adiala Jail with other media representatives when the incident took place.
He said that Panjutha incited workers by shouting that he should be "taught a lesson" for questioning Aleema about her US properties.
The application added that MPA Aslam, along with PTI workers Azfar and Toma, grabbed and pushed him to the ground, while Intisar Satti and about 40 unidentified workers subjected him to violence.
The journalist further said that his mobile phone was snatched, his microphone was broken, and photos of him and other reporters were later used in a propaganda campaign on social media. He added that the attack was pre-planned and demanded legal action against Aleema, Panjutha, and Satti.
The altercation came days after Aleema was pelted with eggs during a media interaction outside the Adiala jail.
Aleema was addressing journalists after attending a Toshakhana case hearing when two women hurled eggs at her, leaving her briefly startled.
Quickly regaining composure, she remarked, “We don’t care if anyone attacks us, as we knew this would happen,” before retreating to her car to avoid further confrontation.
According to Rawalpindi police, the women involved in the incident were affiliated with the PTI and had travelled from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as part of protests staged by the All Government Employees Grand Alliance and APCA against Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur over delayed salaries and administrative issues.
Police said the egg-throwing occurred after Aleema declined to respond to their questions. The women were taken into custody at the scene and shifted to the Adiala police post for questioning.
The situation became tense as PTI workers, including former MPA Seemabia Tahir, strongly protested against the women’s actions. Party supporters accused the detainees of deliberately attempting to create chaos and undermine the PTI leadership.