Anchorperson Shahzeb Khanzada was publicly confronted by a man accusing him of biased reporting against PTI founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi, according to a video circulating on social media. Khanzada, who was with his family, chose not to respond and quietly walked away.
The incident triggered widespread condemnation from political leaders and media professionals. Punjab Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb called the behaviour “unacceptable,” saying it reflected a “mob mentality” associated with PTI and amounted to intimidation rather than political expression. PPP leader and Sindh Energy Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah urged people to express disagreements respectfully, while MQM-P Senator Faisal Subzwari also criticised the confrontation.
The episode comes two days after *The Economist* published a piece examining Imran Khan’s marriage to Bushra Bibi and her influence on his decision-making as prime minister — a story the PTI dismissed as recycled propaganda presented as foreign analysis.
Several social media users rallied behind Khanzada, denouncing the harassment and urging tolerance for differing views. Prominent journalists, including Waseem Abbasi, Ziauddin Yousafzai, Asad Ali Toor, Matiullah Jan, Zahid Gishkori, Faizan Lakhani, and Asma Shirazi, labelled the behaviour inappropriate and dangerous. Pakistan Daily founder Hamza Azhar Salam noted that PTI had not pursued any formal defamation case against Khanzada, adding that confronting him in public was unjustified.
In a post on X, Khanzada defended his reporting on the Iddat case and reminded critics that he had also highlighted Shahbaz Gill’s arrest under treason-related charges, underscoring that his journalism remained balanced.
Ziauddin Yousafzai, father of Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai, termed the incident “disgusting and utterly condemnable,” stressing that harassment of journalists cannot be tolerated.
The confrontation has reignited debate on the safety of journalists in Pakistan, where reporters frequently face pressure, online attacks, and public intimidation for their work.
