After addressing party members outside of his Zaman Park mansion in Lahore and promising that he would never allow them to bow down to anyone or anything, the PTI leader issued the ban. Additionally, he attacked government officials, claiming they had hidden their money abroad and had received legal protection from former army chief Gen (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa.
The regulator referenced earlier directions where all licensees were told to “refrain from telecasting any content against state institutions” in the prohibition decision.
“It has been observed that Mr Imran Khan, Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, in his speeches/statements is continuously…levelling baseless allegations and spreading hate speech through his provocative statements against state institutions and officers which is prejudicial to the maintenance of law and order and is likely to disturb public peace and tranquillity,” said an order issued by the media regulating authority on Sunday.
According to Pemra, licensees broadcast the content without properly utilising the time delay mechanism, breaking both the authority’s statutes and rulings from the apex court.
“… therefore, the competent authority i.e. chairman Pemra in view of the above-mentioned background and reasons, in the exercise of delegated powers of the authority vested in Section 27(a) of the Pemra Ordinance 2002 as amended by Pemra (Amendment) Act 2007, hereby prohibits broadcast/rebroadcast of speech(s)/press talks (recorded or live) of Imran Khan on all satellite TV channels with immediate effect,” the order read.
The government appears to be “panicking,” according to Fawad Chaudhry of PTI, who responded to the restriction.
The imported govt has outlawed airing Imran’s remarks on TV, he claimed, in yet another cunning effort to muffle his voice. Fawad urged the media community to follow suit and warned that the PTI would sue to overturn the ban.
PTI leader Ali Haider Zaidi stated, “Using Pemra as a political tool and banning leaders like Imran Khan will not address the challenges Pakistan faces today.”
