A Reflection on the Police Raid on Islamabad Press Club
By Kashif Hasan
The images came first. Officers, batons raised, cameras smashed, lunch spilled in the cafeteria, voices of journalists drowned out not by argument but by force. These are not trivial details — they are signals, loud and unsettling. On 2 October 2025, Islamabad Police stormed the National Press Club, assaulting journalists, vandalising property, and harassing media workers. Eyewitnesses say that their own words — “we are journalists” — were ignored, while the tools of truth, cameras and phones, were snatched or smashed.
This was no ordinary clash, no minor scuffle. It was a state-authorised or at least state-permitted assault on the very forum where truth is meant to flourish. And so we must ask the question: Do we really want to silence truth for the comfort of lies?
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The Press Club: Symbol, Sanctuary, and Battleground
The National Press Club (NPC) is more than bricks and mortar; it is sacred ground for journalism in Pakistan. It is meant to be a refuge — a place where cameras, notebooks, and words are not threats, but tools. Where journalists eat, debate, report, challenge. The fact that the police burst in, broke furniture, smashed cameras, attacked those simply doing their work, reveals a deeper rot.
When soldiers storm a stronghold, we call it war. When police storm a press club, we need to call it what it is: an assault on freedom. If a state or its agents can treat a press club as a battlefield, what does it say about the status of truth in that state? What does it say about who is allowed to speak and who is forced to silence?
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What Happened — The Known Facts
According to multiple sources:
The incident occurred during protests by the Azad Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee outside the NPC.
Police allegedly baton-charged protesters; some fled into the press club for safety. The force entered via rear gates, treating the premises as if it were an enemy fortress.
Inside, cameras and phones were snatched or destroyed. Journalists were beaten, furniture vandalised. Even in the cafeteria, while some were eating, the violence extended.
Police claim some protesters had clashed with them, including damage to their own officers; that they pursued those protesters, even into the NPC. Government officials have apologised, ordered inquiries; the Interior Minister pledged that violence against journalists would not be tolerated.
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Why This Matters — Consequences far beyond Bruised Cameras
1. Erosion of Press Freedom
Press freedom is not optional. It is a pillar of democracy. When journalists are intimidated, assaulted, or censored, the public loses. The stories that would otherwise be told go untold; abuses go unchallenged. Citizens die, metaphorically, from lack of knowledge. When cameras can be smashed, what stops words from being silenced?
2. Precedent of Impunity
If those who wield power do so without accountability, then impunity becomes the norm. Efforts to dare truth-telling may retreat into whispering or disappear altogether. The assurances of inquiry are necessary; but those are only meaningful if followed by consequences. No amount of public condemnation can substitute for justice.
3. Chilling Effect
When one journalist is assaulted, dozens more will think twice before speaking up, before taking photos, before exposing wrongdoing. The fear is not merely physical: it is psychological. The question becomes — is the risk worth the story? Many will conclude, tragically, that it isn’t.
4. Distortion of Truth
Lies thrive in the dark, where truth is afraid to tread. When state agents foster an atmosphere where media work is punishable, the comfort of official narratives becomes easier to maintain. Rumours fill the gaps; half-truths and propaganda move in where open investigation and accountability should be.
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Do We Really Want … ?
Back to the question: Do we really want to silence truth for the comfort of lies?
This is not a hypothetical. The comfort of lies is what many in power seek. If the public is not questioning, not investigating, if the media is muzzled, then lies become safe. We accept brutality, misuse of force, violation of civil liberties, as long as it remains out of sight, out of mind. But what is the cost?
The comfort of lies gives way to an unthinking population.
It allows unjust policies to go unchallenged.
It permits history to be written by victors, or by whoever controls the narrative.
And in time, the comfort becomes corrosive: liberty erodes, trust is lost, and the state becomes something distant, if not hostile.
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What Must Be Done — Beyond Words
If we are to protect the sanctity of truth, then this is what must happen:
Transparent and Impartial Inquiry
Not a politically convenient or cosmetic one, but a serious investigation into who ordered this raid, who executed it, and why. The officers involved must be held accountable; it should matter not whether they wore uniform or badge.
Legal Safeguards for Journalists
Laws must clearly protect those who are reporting, photographing, critiquing. There must be legal penalties for officers who cross the line. Press clubs should be declared inviolate spaces under law.
Political Will
It’s easy to issue statements. It’s harder to enforce them. The government must show that it means what it says when it promises not to tolerate violence against journalists.
Public Awareness and Solidarity
Citizens, civil society, other institutions must not allow such incidents to fade into silence. Protests, public campaigns, international media attention — all are tools to hold power accountable.
Bottom Line
When someone assaults a journalist, they are not just hitting one person. They are assaulting every person who believes in being informed, every soul who demands accountability, every citizen with a right to know.
So again: Do we really want to silence truth for the comfort of lies? If not, let today’s outraged voices be more than echoes. Let them be a turning point.
The Press Club will rebuild. Cameras will be replaced. Chairs can be fixed. But the idea of truth, once battered, needs our protection more than ever.
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