PTI barred from holding presser at PID, again

PTI spokesperson demands Dawn Leaks investigation, Model Town incident reports be made public

ISLAMABAD: For the second time in a space of eight days, the government on Thursday barred the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders from holding a ‘scheduled’ press conference at the Press Information Department (PID).

PTI had earlier announced that its leaders will address a press conference at PID – an attached department of the Ministry of Information - located at Zero Point. But as soon as PTI spokesperson Naeemul Haque, accompanied by MNA Murad Saeed and others, arrived at the venue they found the main gate of the building locked from the inside and a contingent of police force stood guard.

“We did not come here without informing the officials concerned,” said Haque, while addressing newsmen outside the PID building. “I had talked to the newly appointed press information officer and informed him about the schedule of our press conference, but unfortunately once again we have been barred from entering the PID premises.”



He expressed astonishment that last year former information minister Pervaiz Rasheed had allowed PTI to hold a press conference at the premises, but now the government is refusing to give the party any space.

The spokesperson demanded of the government to make public the report of Dawn Leaks in the forthcoming session of the National Assembly.

“We want to know through the report whether Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryum Nawaz and Secretary to Prime Minister Fawad Hasan Fawad recorded their statements before the inquiry committee formed to identify those who leaked sensitive information to the media,” he said.



Haque alleged that the PM Office was trying to push the report under the carpet as PTI still believed that Maryum and Fawad were behind the leaking of the information.

“Only three irrelevant persons had been made scapegoats in the case,” Haque said.

“Maryum had sent a defamation notice to me after I had alleged that she was behind the Dawn Leaks,” he said while challenging her to proceed against him. He also demanded of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to make public the report of Model Town incident.



“Sharif has become a security risk,” said Haque. “The PM’s aggressive defiance like barring the opposition party from using the platform of PID would not be in the national interest.”

He also criticised Maryum for calling some patriotic journalists anti-state for exposing the name of Sharif family in the Panama Leaks.

He hoped that the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) - under the supervision of the Supreme Court - would complete its investigation against the Sharif family in the Panamagate case and unearth the facts.

However, he feared that the prime minister would influence the proceedings of the JIT.



Moments before PTI’s presser, PML-N minister Tariq Fazl Chaudhry and Member of National Assembly Danyial Aziz addressed a press conference at the central hall of the PID.

According to a set tradition, PID is only used by federal ministers and sitting government MPs, while opposition parties usually do not make requests to hold press conferences inside the PID building.

Last Thursday (April 27), the PTI leadership had made a similar move but had met the same fate – as they were not allowed to enter the building. After the government’s refusal last week, the PTI legislators had also filed a complaint with the local police station against State Minister for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb.