Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) expresses alarm over the harassment of media professionals in Gujrat in the Punjab province while they were pursuing an investigation into corruption in the Gujrat District Health Department. The alleged assault and unlawful detention of investigative journalist Zeeshan Haider and his cameraperson Muhammad Asif, and the subsequent registration of criminal complaints (First Information Report) against Haider, as well as other media professionals who rushed to assist them is a blatant attempt to intimidate journalists, obstruct their professional duties, and undermine the public’s right to information.
PPF stresses that violence, arbitrary detention, and the misuse of criminal laws against journalists are unacceptable in a democracy. Such actions not only endanger the safety of media workers but also erode press freedom by creating a climate of fear that discourages investigative reporting on matters of public interest, including the exposure of corruption in public institutions. PPF calls on authorities to ensure accountability for those responsible, drop all unfounded charges against the journalists, and guarantee that the press can operate without interference or reprisal.
On July 26, investigative reporter for Samaa News and President of the Electronic Media Association, Syed Zulfiqar Haider, accompanied by cameraperson Muhammad Asif, visited the District Health Officer’s office in Gujrat to seek an official response to a report on an alleged illegal kidney transplant network and alleged irregularities in the department’s anti-quackery campaign. According to Haider, instead of receiving answers, they were confronted by the Chief Executive Officer of Health Gujrat, Dr. Atta Al-Munaim, and other officials. A group of 30 to 35 individuals entered the office, physically assaulted the journalists, damaged their camera, microphone, and mobile phone, and locked them in a room.
Speaking to PPF, Haider shared that he used a second phone hidden on his person to alert colleagues at the Gujrat Press Club. Within minutes, senior journalists Abdul Sattar Mirza, the club’s president and Bureau Chief for Express News, Syed Naveed Shah, Bureau Chief for Dunya News and a former club president, and Rana Shehzad, reporter for 24 News, rushed to the scene to secure Haider’s release. According to Minute Mirror, by the time they arrived, tensions were high, with other journalists gathering in protest outside the health office and police being called in to mediate. Officers eventually freed the detained journalists.
Despite their intervention being solely to assist a colleague under attack, within 24 hours, four journalists — Haider, Mirza, Shah, and Shehzad — were booked under an FIR registered at Police Station A Division, Gujrat, on charges of obstructing public servants, criminal intimidation, and unlawful assembly.
The targeting of Haider continued the next day when a second FIR was registered at Kunjah Police Station on July 27 against him. The complainant, District Inspector Arif Hussain from the DHO office, accused Haider of issuing threats during a raid on an illegal clinic in Banian village. Haider told PPF the cases were politically motivated and intended to punish him for prior reporting on criminal medical networks and alleged corruption in the health department.
Haider submitted a written complaint to the police, calling for action against the officials involved in the assault and for the removal of the three senior journalists’ names from FIR 368/25. Investigation Officer Aftab Chohan, Sub-Inspector at A Division Police Station, confirmed to PPF on August 6 that Mirza, Shah, and Shehzad had been removed from the case at the request of Dr. Atta Al-Munaim, who acknowledged their lack of involvement. Chohan added that the investigation remains pending because Haider has not yet recorded his statement, and that the challan will be submitted to the court once he does so.
Samaa TV’s OSR Head Nabeel Ahmed confirmed that the network stands firmly behind Haider, pledging full legal and journalistic support and vowing to continue pursuing justice through all available forums.
The Gujrat Press Club issued a strong condemnation, stating that the journalists had visited the DHO office solely to verify allegations of extortion linked to the sealing and de-sealing of clinics and had instead been subjected to violence and official abuse. The club warned against attempts to sow division between the press and the local administration and reaffirmed that journalists have historically supported anti-quackery efforts in the public interest.
