ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) counsel Babar Awan on Wednesday condemned a ban on media from covering the accountability court’s proceedings against Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.
Speaking to the media outside the Supreme Court, Awan said that prohibiting journalists from entering the courtroom is beyond his comprehension.
While calling the ban a sheer violation of Article-19 A, he said that “a ban on media coverage cannot be imposed until a written order is issued”.
He said that the ban implied that the ruling party did not want the facts of the trial to get public.
“Bringing the suspect from judges’ gate into courtroom amounts to contempt of court,” Awan added.
Pointing out at former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, he said that another accused appeared before the court amid stringent security measures just a day before.
“Only the difference is this time, authorities prevented media to cover the proceedings against Dar,” he observed. An accountability court on Wednesday indicted Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in a corruption reference filed against him by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
The reference was filed against Dar for possessing assets beyond his known sources of income.
The minister pleaded not guilty to all charges read out by Accountability Judge Muhammad Bashir, terming them baseless. Following the indictment, NAB presented before the court a list of 28 witnesses against the accused.
