REFERENCE Zahid Hussain’s article ‘Tyrannical tactics’ (Dec 17), the writer has distorted many facts.

His reference point is the attack against Geo journalists at recent PTI public events but he fails to mention two crucial points:

(i) PTI Chairman Imran Khan has consistently asked his supporters to ensure safety of all journalists at these events.

(ii) We have yet to ascertain whether the individuals were in fact PTI members or members of the public or deliberate agent provocateurs placed in the crowds to tarnish PTI’s image.

He also confuses an old attack on Quatrina Hossain for which Mr Khan apologised publicly to Quatrina. Perhaps the writer forgets to mention the deliberate call to violence against hostile journalists given by some other political leaders — but then he himself would never risk speaking the truth on this matter!

The writer should have focused on how despite all political parties admitting the May 2013 elections were rigged only the PTI has taken a principled position of seeking an investigation and punishment for those found guilty.

Again, he seems to have an issue with Mr Khan’s language — and let me state categorically that the PTI is not and cannot be held responsible for Sheikh Rasheed’s language — but why should he object to Mr Khan calling the corrupt ‘corrupt’?

Mr Khan has been exposing corruption of traditional political leaders on a daily basis but the writer is not prepared to either concede to the facts put out by Mr Khan or to challenge these facts.

As for the ‘lifafa journalist’ issue, it is a term not coined by Mr Khan or the PTI, and the writer knows only too well the reality of that situation. In fact, Mr Khan has consistently saluted the media’s struggle for freedom and made a clear distinction between media house owners and journalists.

The writer is also clearly disturbed by the extensive media coverage for Mr Khan and the PTI. Well, media coverage is given because Mr Khan and the PTI are the news with their persistent struggle for justice. Pakistanis have an insatiable appetite for seeing Mr Khan and hearing him, and if a media channel does not give coverage, they lose their viewership. That is a hard fact.

So while the PTI has also benefited from media coverage, it is a mutually beneficial situation — after all the media has to cover what is the news.

The writer should make himself a little more relevant journalistically speaking rather than being lost in the web of the tyranny of journalistic arrogance.

Dr Shireen M. Mazari

Central Information Secretary, PTI

Islamabad

Published in Dawn, December 19th, 2014