PTI Chairman Imran Khan made an unacceptable statement about a prominent female journalist, suggesting that by covering political events, she was “invading male-dominated settings” and inviting harassment.
He made this remark in response to a query about harassment of female journalists at PTI jalsas, which was brought up during a discussion with representatives of the National Press Club and the Rawalpindi Islamabad Union of Journalists (RIUJ) in the federal capital.
Khan replied that he would provide special orders to his supporters in this regard, but he specifically mentioned journalist Gharida Farooqui and added, “If she would invade male-dominated settings, then she is bound to be harassed,” meaning that the journalist is “asking for it.”
When asked why he called journalists “lifafa journalists,” Khan responded that he had only used the term to refer to veteran journalist Saleem Safi, a well-known opponent of the PTI.
Khan stated that he cannot halt social media trolls because they are not in anyone’s control. He added that the lawsuit against Sethi was still pending and that he had only brought it against Sethi and not against any other journalists.
Khan insisted that he “does not know who stops some news agencies from covering his pressers” when asked about inviting journalists of his choosing to his press conferences.
