Pak journalists boycott press conference of Khan’s party after verbal spat with senior leader over corruption issue

During a press conference with PTI members a journalist asked former information minister Fawad Chaudhry to comment on reports alleging that Farah Khan, a close friend of Bushra Bibi, was involved in corrupt activities and had recently left the country with her husband.

By: PTI

Islamabad | April 6, 2022 10:26 PM IST

Pakistani journalists on Wednesday boycotted a press conference of embattled Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party here after a verbal spat broke out between them and a senior PTI leader over a corruption-related question involving a close friend of former first lady Bushra Bibi.

During a press conference with PTI members Asad Umar, Shahbaz Gill and Ali Muhammad Khan, a journalist asked former information minister Fawad Chaudhry to comment on reports alleging that Farah Khan, a close friend of Bushra Bibi, was involved in corrupt activities and had recently left the country with her husband, The Express Tribune newspaper reported.

The Opposition alleges that Farah received a huge sum of money for getting officers transferred and posted according to their choices, calling the scam the “mother of all scandals” amounting to 6 billion Pakistani rupees (USD 32 million). Maryam Nawaz, the Pakistan Muslim League (N) Vice President and deposed premier Nawaz Sharif’s daughter, claimed that Farah has done the corruption at the behest of Imran and his wife.

Infuriated by the question, Chaudhry lashed out at the reporter, claiming that he was a “hired phoney” and that he knew where the scribe acquired his “bribe” from. The former minister also began hurling abuses at the reporter.

Enraged at Chaudhry’s actions, all the journalists present at the press conference demanded an apology from him, only for him to question why he should apologise and to whom.

Soon after, Chaudhry started his statement but was cut off by chants from the journalists who refused to listen to him, the report said.

Observing the severity of the situation, while the other PTI leaders tried to convince the journalists to listen to Asad Umar instead, Chaudhry questioned why his colleague should speak instead of him and maintained that he had not told any lies, demanding that he will speak and everyone must listen.

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Protesting his attitude, the journalists dropped their microphones on the dais and said that they would not allow Chaudhry to speak unless he apologised to the reporter who he abused.

The PTI leaders soon ended the press conference and left.

Earlier this week, Farah left for Dubai following the dissolution of the National Assembly in the wake of the no-trust move against Prime Minister Khan.