Multan Press Club elections and press freedom
Multan Press Club Elections: A Test for Press Freedom
By Muhammad Aamir Hussaini
The annual elections of the Multan Press Club were held on Sunday, February 15, 2026. On the surface, it was an ordinary institutional exercise. In reality, it was a small but telling test of the future of journalism and freedom of expression. The contest took place between the ruling The Journalists Group and the Professional Journalists Group, a coalition formed by several smaller factions. The names were different, but the central question remained the same: would the press club remain a building, or become a living institution?
Two years earlier, in 2024, around twenty members formed a consultative forum. The idea was simple but deliberate: instead of direct confrontation, adopt a quiet strategy—what political language calls the tactics of enterism. The aim was to avoid blind factionalism, because factionalism has a habit of devouring principles. We wanted democratic values to grow inside the press club, young journalists to learn about workers’ rights, and to encourage them to speak for the weak against powerful pressure groups. Two years of quiet effort produced results that could not easily be counted, but could certainly be felt.
When elections approached, the initial opinion within the forum was to support the Professional Group. The reasoning was straightforward: many of the senior journalists we consider role models like Raziuddin Razi, Amjad Bukhari, Mian Abdul Ghaffar, Shaukat Ashfaq, Ejaz Tareen and others were not only supporting the group but had helped build it. To decide against them was not easy. Many younger colleagues, who shared our intellectual outlook and practical struggles, were also contesting from this group.
But politics is also a matter of memory. Some of us reminded the forum that Shakeel Anjum, Khalid Chaudhry and several Professional Group candidates had supported us in the 2024 MUJ elections. The moral question was unavoidable: could we ignore that support? After lengthy debate, a compromise was reached. We decided to vote for the Professional Group’s candidates for General Secretary, Finance Secretary and eight Executive Council members, while supporting Shakeel Anjum for President and six Executive Council members from The Journalists Group. I was authorized to announce this decision publicly, and I did so in a Facebook post on February 13, 2026.
Interestingly, even within the Professional Group, the prevailing belief was that winning the top three positions like President, General Secretary and Finance Secretary was nearly impossible. My own survey suggested otherwise. Among the silent members of the press club, around sixty potential voters appeared ready to support Mazhar Khan for General Secretary. Silent voters often decide loud elections. The Professional Group’s victory in the Finance Secretary seat therefore came as a genuine surprise.
These elections achieved something more important than victory or defeat: they created an atmosphere of democratic competition. Both groups now have an opportunity not to deepen confrontation, but to improve their working relationship. Disagreement is a sign of democracy; hostility is its disease. The newly elected body must work together on shared goals. We will support their good work and attempt to reduce confrontation wherever possible.
Our expectations are simple and necessary. Journalists who qualify for membership but were excluded because of past conflicts must be granted membership. The press club must become a true guardian of freedom of expression an institution that represents both government and opposition voices.
Because the truth is plain: press freedom in Pakistan faces serious challenges today. The countrywide struggle against the PECA Act requires solidarity. Journalists, writers, intellectuals, human rights activists and political workers are being deprived of their right to speak, and false cases are being filed against them. The press club must use its platform to express solidarity and defend their basic human rights.
If it fails, it will remain just a building. If it succeeds, it will become what it was meant to be a home for voices and a modest but necessary resistance against silence.
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