Irshadullah Khan
PESHAWAR: Peshawar Press Club has strongly reacted to what it said unfounded and baseless accusations levelled by the chief minister’s adviser on social welfare Mashaal Yousafzai against senior journalist Nadia Sabohi of Geo TV Peshawar.
The press club has decided to ban the entry of the adviser in the premises. Additionally, a boycott of coverage of her events and activities has been announced. The press club demanded that all social media posts related to the incident be deleted within 24 hours, and an apology from the provincial government be issued on behalf of the chief minister. Failure to comply with these may result in the utilization of all available measures, including a complete boycott of PTI’s events and activities, protests outside the chief minister’s house and filing of a cybercrime case against Ms Yousafzai.
An emergency one-point agenda meeting was convened on Thursday by the press club to address the allegations against Ms Sabohi.
Peshawar Press Club President Arshad Aziz Malik presided over the meeting which was attended by a large number of senior journalists and members of Khyber Union of Journalists. During the meeting, Ms Sabuhi provided a detailed account of her perspective regarding Ms Yousafzai’s actions.
The participants voiced concern over the potential security risks to Ms Sabuhi resulting from the publication of her contact information on social media. They regarded these actions as a deliberate attempt to undermine the harmonious relationship between PTI, its provincial government and journalists.
President Malik affirmed that there would be no leniency regarding this incident. A coordinated and phased strategy, developed in consultation with all senior attendees, was established. As part this strategy, a token protest was conducted during today’s provincial government functions through an effective boycott.
