PTI Central Information Secretary Shireen Mazari on Monday condemned the biased and petty minded approach of PTV and Information Minister Pervez Rashid in blacking out the Peshawar Peace Match on Sunday – despite repeated PTI requests at all levels.
In a statement, she pointed out that this was a match that brought together the old and new stars of Pakistani cricket and was a national event.
She underlined that cricket matches of this level were no more organised in Pakistan and the match was a historic event being played in Peshawar where families bravely came out to watch in a jam-packed stadium.
She said while private channels could black out such national events due to political and financial interests, for a state-run organisation like PTV such indulgence in politics is simply unacceptable when they make their sports channel boycott coverage of a national cricket match. After all PTV is paid for by taxpayer money and its prime responsibility is to the people of Pakistan not to vested political interests.
Information Minister Pervez Rashid had earlier blacked out transmission of PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s speech in the National Assembly. Now they are so fearful of PTI that they could not allow coverage of a national cricket match where past and present heroes were playing. The PTI leader concluded, “It is shameful and smacks of the petty politics and intrigues of a government insecure of its support because of the manner in which it came to its “heavy mandate.”
PTI condemns Rashid for blacking out Peshawar Peace Match
