When money meets the microphone: inside National Press Club

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 20 March 2026 |  Akhtar Shah

After two decades of dominance by the Journalist Panel, Pakistan's National Press Club saw new leaders elected as president and secretary. The result highlights long-standing patronage, blurred memberships and growing nonjournalist influence.

Summary

What do capital, ambition, and a few well-timed waistcoats have to do with Pakistan’s National Press Club? More than you might think.

ISLAMABAD — After two decades of near-continuous control by the same Journalist Panel, Pakistan’s National Press Club has witnessed a historic upset, with both the president and secretary positions claimed by new leadership. The long era of entrenched power has finally been challenged, signaling a potential turning point in the institution’s governance.

For years, the NPC resembled less a democratic body and more a well-oiled political franchise. The same group, sometimes with different slogans, hairstyles, or slightly updated wardrobes, remained in power election after election, creating an environment where accountability was optional, and principle often took a backseat to influence and capital.

The media industry, once a playground for journalists and editors, has grown into a lucrative ecosystem attracting industrialists, real estate magnates, and opportunistic investors. Somewhere in the middle sat the NPC, a club for journalists, yes, but also prime real estate with microphones for those who understood how power circulates when the collective conscience is absent.

Over the years, misrepresentation became easy. Memberships circulated, sometimes reaching those with tenuous connections to journalism. Senior figures were brought in to lend credibility and the ceremonial fragrance of principle, only to become part of the very system they were meant to supervise. And yet, even in this long-running comedy of entrenched power, collective inattention allowed the same faces to persist.

Now, with the 2026 elections producing a decisive shake-up, that era has ended. The upset reflects both a readiness for change within the journalistic community and the unpredictability that can finally emerge when ambition, networks, and opportunity collide with growing awareness.

Karl Marx may not have written about the National Press Club, but had he attended this election, he might have quietly revised a chapter. After 20 years of repetition, Pakistan’s journalists have shown that even the most entrenched systems can be challenged, and that principle, when combined with action, can still matter.

ABOUT THE WRITER: Akhtar Shah is a professional cartoonist who has worked for several English-language newspapers, including The Muslim and The News. He presently contributes cartoons to JournalismPakistan and designed its Janu Journalism mascot.