ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan on Wednesday apologised to journalists, admitting that what happened was wrong.
“We strongly condemn this incident,” he remarked, before embracing journalist Tayyab Baloch, who was assaulted two days ago by PTI workers during Aleema Khan’s media talk.
Speaking to reporters outside the Adiala jail in Rawalpindi, where Imran Khan remains incarcerated, Gohar said police had added terrorism provisions to the case against party workers involved in torturing journalists. He stressed that the families of PTI founder Imran Khan and his spouse Bushra Bibi had no political agenda and reiterated that the party did not believe in violence. “Differences should never lead to violence. We do not incite anyone under any circumstances,” he maintained.
Gohar also announced a party-level inquiry into both the assault on journalists and the egg-throwing incident targeting Aleema Khan. Responding to a question, he said KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur should engage the Afghan government, though his passport had remained blocked for three years.
Meanwhile, the PTI strongly condemned the registration of what it called another “fabricated and bogus FIR” against Aleema Khan, which also implicated senior PTI lawyer Naeem Haider Panjutha and others. In a statement, the PTI Central Media Department termed the case a blatant act of political victimisation.
The spokesperson accused the government of unleashing a wave of false FIRs to intimidate and silence dissent. He noted that the FIR initially cited PPC sections 506, 147, 149, 382, and 427, but terrorism clauses were later inserted overnight. “When our people appeared in ordinary courts, they were forcibly dragged to an Anti-Terrorism Court — a glaring abuse of the justice system,” the statement said.
The PTI declared the case as entirely false and politically motivated, accusing Punjab Police of turning into a “printing press for fake FIRs,” particularly against Imran Khan’s family. The party said Aleema Khan was being targeted simply because she continued to stand firmly with her brother. Calling her a dignified and courageous woman, PTI vowed to support her unconditionally.
