Bahawalpur Journalists Protest Today, Demand Terrorism Charges in Owaisi Attack
Bahawalpur, June 22, 2026: Journalists in Bahawalpur will hold a peaceful demonstration today at 11 AM outside the District Police Officer Office (DPO), demanding that Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 be added to the case registered over the brutal attack on Daily Khabrain crime reporter Mian Zahid Owaisi.
The protest call has gone out under the banner of a united platform of press club leaders (“Quaideen-e-Sahafati Ittehad”). According to Abubakar Rongha, a senior leader of Press Club Hatehji who shared the call with journalist networks, the demonstration will be led by Ali Hashmi, a Daily Khabrain correspondent and leader of City Press Club Bahawalpur.
Organizers say their central demand is the inclusion of Section 7 ATA — which carries the punishment for acts of terrorism and routes cases to special Anti-Terrorism Courts — in the FIR registered over the attack. They argue that without it, the case risks being treated as routine street crime rather than a targeted assault on a journalist carried out, by Owaisi’s own account, with the protection of influential local figures. Organizers have indicated the protest will continue and intensify if the demand is not met.
In their call to colleagues, organizers said attacks on journalists “will not be tolerated” and urged the wider press fraternity to join today’s gathering in solidarity. Rural Media Network Pakistan (RMNP) said it remains in contact with Reporters Without Borders (RSF) regarding developments in the case.
Background: The Attack on Mian Zahid Owaisi
On June 7, 2026, roughly ten armed men surrounded and attacked Mian Zahid Owaisi, a Daily Khabrain crime reporter, beating him with sticks and clubs. The assault took place in broad daylight at a restaurant in Bahawalpur and was captured on CCTV. Owaisi sustained multiple injuries and was hospitalized in critical condition.
In a statement to police from his hospital bed, Owaisi said the attack was linked to his recent reporting on local drug trafficking in the Bahawalpur district, and he accused influential local politicians of shielding the alleged attackers.
Police have registered a complaint and arrested three suspects so far. DPO Bahawalpur Rana Abdul Wahab took notice of the incident, and special teams were constituted to trace and arrest the remaining suspects, according to the Bahawalpur Police Public Relations Office.
RMNP condemned the attack as a direct assault on press freedom and called on Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif and the Inspector General of Police Punjab to ensure a prompt and transparent investigation. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) also took up the case, calling for a thorough investigation and for the Punjab government to move toward a dedicated legal framework protecting journalists, similar to frameworks already adopted in Sindh and at the federal level. The attack on Owaisi comes amid a broader pattern of violence against journalists in Pakistan. The same week, senior journalist Lala Israfil Khan of HUM News was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Musakhel, Balochistan.
