ISLAMABAD: The speeches of PTI chief Imran Khan, who survived an assassination attempt during the Azadi March earlier this week, would go live as the country’s top media regulatory authority has lifted the blanket ban on it as per the instructions of the federal government.
“The directives for lifting the ban on Imran’s speeches, issued by the prime minister to PEMRA, are in accordance with the law which granted such powers to the federal government,” Marriyum Aurangzeb, the information minister, said in a statement on Saturday.
Earlier, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) barred television channels from airing Imran’s speeches as it viewed that such content would likely create “hatred among the people”.
Marriyum said PM Shehbaz had also directed PEMRA to ensure full compliance with Article 19 (freedom of speech) of the Constitution. “We do not believe in what has been done by Imran Khan with Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz, and other political leaders during his four-year rule,” she said.
She was of the view that Imran’s speeches against the ruling coalition government should reach the people so they could know the reality of the “Fitna”. Marriyum advised the PTI leader’s supporters to understand the reality of such narratives.
Imran Khan would address a press conference today (Sunday), PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry said in a tweet. The former prime minister was expected to get permission to shift to the house from the hospital as his medical reports were satisfactory.
The cricketer-turned-politician was admitted to the Shaukat Khanum hospital after surviving an assassination attempt and getting wound on leg. Imran has accused the incumbent government and a senior military officer of the attack. But, the government and the armed forces have rejected such allegations.
PM Shehbaz has urged the Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial to form a full-court commission to investigative the allegations made by his predecessor.
“Imran Khan’s allegations are the embodiment of lies,” he had said.
