October 10, 2025
By Rana Malhi
ISLAMABAD
A Joint Action Committee formed by the National Press Club and the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) formally submitted a charter of demands to the Ministry of Interior on Wednesday, in response to the police raid on the Press Club last Thursday.
The submission followed with a meeting chaired by Press Club President and Joint Action Committee chairperson Azhar Jatoi, during which the Secretary of the National Press Club Nayyar Ali briefed the Minister of State for Interior, Talal Chaudhry, on the committee’s demands.
During the meeting Minister of State Talal Chaudhry told the committee that, in light of the charter, measures would be taken to ensure the protection of press clubs across the country. He said the prime minister, the federal interior minister and the federal information minister had expressed serious concern about the incident and have ordered a full investigation. He said immediate steps would be taken to prevent any repetition of such condemned incidents, including instructing that police must seek formal permission from press club administrations before entering any press club. The minister reiterated that the government had publicly condemned the attack on the National Press Club and had apologized earlier, and was apologizing again now.
The Joint Action Committee finalized the charter of demands during the meeting. Committee members who attended included Haji Nawaz Raza, Afzal Butt, Shakeel Ahmed, Shakeel Qarar, Saadia Kamal, M. B. Somro, Naveed Akbar, Javed Malik, Tariq Work, Rana Kosar Ali, Tariq Usmani, Mehmood-ur-Rehman Tanoli and Joint Action Committee Secretary Nayyar Ali. Taking into account members’ suggestions, the committee agreed unanimously on the following points.
Charter of demands (as submitted)
Strict legal action and accountability: The committee demands that those responsible for the attack on the National Press Club be prosecuted and appropriately punished. A high-level inquiry committee should be constituted immediately to identify those responsible. This inquiry committee should include representatives from the Ministries of Interior, and Information, and journalists nominated by the National Press Club. The inquiry committee must determine the losses suffered by reporters, video journalists, photographers and National Press Club staff who were subjected to violence by Islamabad police and ensure restitution. After receipt of the charter of demands from the Press Club JAC, the Ministry of Interior should issue the inquiry committee’s notification within 24 hours and the committee should present its report within four days.
Formal, institutional protection for press clubs: Pakistan’s constitution guarantees freedom of the press and freedom of expression, as do democratic countries around the world. Press clubs and journalist organizations are central institutions for that freedom of expression. Following the recent, distressing police brutality at the National Press Club, it is essential to protect the sanctity and security of these basic institutions. To prevent recurrence, a committee should be formed under the chairmanship of the federal interior minister and including the ministers of information of the four provinces, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan; the information secretaries; and the presidents of press clubs in the federal and provincial capitals. Rather than relying on verbal assurances, the Ministry of Interior should issue an official notification establishing this committee to guarantee the protection, sanctity and dignity of press clubs, relevant unions and their members.
Activation of the Protection of Journalists and Media Professionals Act: Although the Protection of Journalists and Media Professionals Act contains multiple provisions to protect journalists and the media community, the committee noted that despite roughly four years passing since its enactment, the Journalists Protection Commission has not been established and therefore no journalists or media workers have received relief under the law. The committee demands that the commission be fully constituted within two weeks and the act be activated. The commission’s terms of reference should explicitly ensure protection for all press clubs.
Parliamentary guarantees: The Pakistani journalist community sees parliament as the supreme representative of popular aspirations. Therefore, through unanimous resolutions in both the upper and lower houses, the sanctity of press clubs and the safety of their members should be formally guaranteed.
Response by Government
Minister of State Talal Chaudhry assured the Joint Action Committee that he would contact the chairman of the Senate, the speaker of the National Assembly, the federal interior minister, the federal information minister, and the provincial ministers of interior and information to secure approval of the committee’s demands.
Irate journalists talk about situation
Journalist Matiullah Jan, who has faced false cases in the past, said the press club is not just a building but a space that holds sanctity and respect, which the police violated. He stressed that the government must not only form a commission but also take serious action against the growing incidents of attacks and killings of journalists.
Asad Ali Toor, who has also previously been subjected to violence, said this was not an attack on one individual but on press freedom itself. He said the police entering the press club was a serious offense and those responsible should be dismissed and punished. He added that a charter of demands alone is not enough and that there must be concrete action against those involved.
President of the Lahore Press Club, Arshad Ansari, also expressed his irritation.
“What kind of conduct is this? First, they barge in, vandalize the place, and then come back to apologize.” He made it clear that this is unacceptable and said if he had been at the Islamabad Press Club, he would not have allowed Talal Chaudhry to even enter.
The JAC submission comes after widespread condemnation across the country over the police entry into the National Press Club in Islamabad and the assault on journalists who were covering protests related to Kashmir. The raid drew protests from journalists nationwide. The committee’s charter of demands seeks both immediate investigative action and longer-term institutional guarantees to protect press clubs, journalists and the freedom of the press.