The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) has decided to take up on Friday a petition filed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)against news channels running a ‘defamatory media campaign’ against party Chairman Imran Khan.
In a letter addressed to PEMRA Chairman, Absar Alam, the PTI media cell called for action against TV channels that ‘accused’ Khan for marrying the third time.
The PTI’s media cell referred to the reporting as “contrary to the local traditions, general morality and journalistic ethics”.
The letter went on to add that the campaign was well-thought out “to smear Chairman PTI at the time when he is in England to visit his sons”.
The letter said that rebuttals on the matter had already been issued by PTI’s central information secretary, which were ignored by the channels.
It further criticised PEMRA for being a “silent spectator to the hostility” carried out against Khan.
On Tuesday, news channels, quoting unconfirmed reports, stated Imran Khan married a woman, named Maryam, a few days ago in London.
Earlier this year, speaking in National Assembly, PTI’s Shafqat Mehmood had termed Alam’s appointment as chairman PEMRA to be a government’s tactic to control the private media channels.
Referring to an incident in which, according to the PTI lawmaker, a TV anchorperson has been slapped with a fine of Rs 100,000, he said it was a dangerous trend which required to be checked at the outset. Mehmood said: “Has the government decided to use this new method to put curbs on freedom of expression.”
The PTI legislator from Lahore said he and his party were opposed to this practice and sought a detailed explanation from the government as if it was being done as part of a deliberate plan.
