ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan Wednesday said the interview of Asif Ali Zardari with a local media outlet in the Parliament House was the breach of laws and rules.
Speaking to media persons at the Parliament House, she said the interview of Asif Zardari was a violation of the laws of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) and rules of the National Assembly.
She said any person in the remand of NAB and investigated by it could not have access to media.
Similarly, no one was allowed to conduct an interview of somebody within the premises of parliament without the permission of the speaker, she told.
Dr Firdous said an area outside parliament was designated for legislators to express their viewpoint, adding the laws of PEMRA also did not allow the airing of interview of an accused under investigation.
Zardari’s interview conducted by senior journalist and anchorperson Hamid Mir was taken off air within a few minutes of broadcasting on Geo News Monday evening, leaving many to question the freedom of the press in Pakistan.
The channel ran a ticker at 8 pm — the time interview was supposed to be broadcast– that the show, Capital Talk, won’t be aired.
When contacted, a PEMRA source told Pakistan Today that the authority has nothing to do with stopping the show.
