Last Update: June 01, 2023, 13:08 IST
The ‘ban’ on Imran Khan does not include any live coverage, sound bites, visuals or tickers. (PTI)
The I&B ministry on Wednesday invited all TV channel owners for a meeting and directed them to blackout Khan, a source claimed that the directive was issued by the ISI’s media cell
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has alleged that former Prime Minister Imran Khan has been blacked out from Pakistan’s TV channels on the instructions of the ruling establishment.
Sources said that the PEMRA (Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority) had directed TV channels to boycott people disturbing peace and spreading hatred with the aim of cricketer-turned-politician, whose brief earlier this month The arrest had sparked widespread violence across the country.
The ‘ban’ on Khan does not include any live coverage, sound bites, visuals or tickers.
According to a top government source, the establishment has decided to blackout Khan and impose a complete ban on his coverage on all news channels.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Wednesday invited all TV channel owners for a meeting and directed them to blackout Khan.
The source claims that the instructions to ban the former prime minister were issued from the media cell of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
Meanwhile, the PEMRA notification did not mention Khan but PTI said it was clear that the former cricketer was banned.
Pemra cleared the air, saying that the events of May 9 – when violence broke out – were aimed at ‘weakening the federation’ by fueling anti-state sentiments.
“TV channels should refrain from providing their airtime to such persons who propagate hate speech and incite public sentiments against the federation and state institutions,” it said. It also called for the complete ouster of such “hate mongers and enablers” from the media.
The PEMRA notification states that such ‘organisations’ are polluting the minds of innocent public and aimed at harming the state and its institutions.
According to the notification, this is “clearly a very sinister trend which should be condemned and those involved in promoting such activities to harm peace and tranquility in Pakistan should be excommunicated”.
Khan is already effectively banned from TV and has been using social media and YouTube to broadcast his speeches. However, news channels indirectly refer to his speeches and interviews which the establishment feels keeps him in the limelight and political discourse.