Journalists around the country protested in the capital against the proposed Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA). In a sit-in conducted outside the Parliament House, journalists opposed the restrictions that the proposed bill will impose on the press in Pakistan, citing it as a measure to curb free speech and criticism in the country. The protest demonstration was supported by various sections of civil society, including members of the judiciary as well as the opposition.

Federal Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry casually labeled prominent journalists and media houses in Pakistan as being “agenda-driven”. On September 1, he appeared on the News Eye program on Dawn News, where he was questioned on how the government has not completed its investigation of any of the three attacks that occurred in the capital.