The Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) failure to take action against an alleged fake advertisement against the PML-N has compelled the party to refer the matter to the Lahore High Court (LHC).
The LHC has taken immediate notice of the issue and ordered stopping of the ‘controversial’ advertisement, besides summoning PEMRA and ECP officials within 24-hours to clarify their position.
The volatile advertisement, being taken as sheer violation of media code of conduct outlined by the ECP, after being aired as “paid content”, showcased a telephonic conversation between Justice (r) Qayyum Malik and Shahbaz Sharif in a possibly shadowy deal of political corruption.
The petition filed by PML-N’s Ishaq Dar has accused TV channels of refusing to abide by the ECP‘s code of conduct for media.
The alleged talks between Qayyum and Shahbaz is said to have been recorded by intelligence agencies during Benazir Bhutto’s regime, due to which Malik Qayyum and one judge had to wash their hands of their positions.
Meanwhile, the PPP has also decided to head for a showdown with the PML-N to prove veracity of its advertisement and according to latest position, also intends to file its petition challenging the formation of a bench to review the petition filed by the PML-N, as the bench allegedly has a close relative of Malik Qayyum on the seat.
The PPP also intends to highlight the veracity of the video content, over the recording being already used as a proof in previous (1990s) court hearing(s), and the airing of this recording was in no way a violation of ECP’s code of conduct.
