Media in Pakistan is being suppressed by the Imran Khan government as Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) expressed concerns over the reported withholding of advertisements for some newspapers and TV channels by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.
It is worth mentioning that Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) is an ally of Imran Khan government.
Elahi advised Prime Minister Imran Khan to "beware" of his advisers, accusing them of causing a dispute between the government and the media. He said he was clueless as to why the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government was targeting certain media houses.
Pakistani President Dr Arif Alvi had promulgated an ordinance on February 20 to amend the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA). This move has drawn sharp backlash from various journalists unions.
The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) moved a petition in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) stating that the promulgation of the ordinance is based on "malice" as the required conditions have not been met by the government.
Elahi said freedom of expression was the beauty of democracy. He also displayed his concern that some of the PTI members had reportedly been barred by the party from appearing in programmes on some TV channels. "This will hurt PTI in a way that it won't be able to present its balanced viewpoint to the public," he added.
Under the Ordinance, the definition of a "person" has been broadened to include any company, association, institution, organization, authority, or any other. Furthermore, anyone found guilty of attacking a person's "identity" will now be sentenced to five years instead of three years.
Another Ordinance was signed to amend the country's election laws, allowing any person holding any office under the Constitution or any other law to visit or address public meetings in "any area or constituency". The ambit of the Federal Investigation Agency has also been broadened.
( With inputs from ANI )
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