People blacking out Imran, not media: Aurangzeb

Coalition government strongly believes in freedom of expression, say information minister

ISLAMABAD:

Following Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan's remarks about an alleged "media blackout" of his party on mainstream media, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb has said that it is the people of Pakistan who are blacking out the former prime minister and, not the media.

"It is the public of Pakistan that is blacking you [Imran] out from politics," she said while addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Wednesday.

Aurangzeb said that the present democratic dispensation strongly believed in freedom of expression and unlike the past four years, no news channel would be off-aired, no talk show or programme would be banned and no newspaper would be closed during its tenure.

Meanwhile, while speaking during a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting meeting chaired by PTI Senator Faisal Javed, the information minister said that the coalition government does not believe in any restrictions on freedom of expression and after coming to power, the government abolished the controversial plan to set up the Pakistan Media Regulatory Authority.

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The minister said that there was a need for practical steps to eradicate fake news which had become a challenge all over the world. "Consultations are being held with all stakeholders to create a consensus on how to handle this challenge."

Fake news, Aurangzeb said, was spread regarding Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Saudi Arabia and his entourage, adding that when Shehbaz Sharif was Punjab's chief minister, he always bore the expenses of all his foreign trips.

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"PM Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Saudi Arabia would also be at personal expense, and those accompanying the prime minister would also bear their personal expenses."

She went on to say that it was a standard practice that whenever a prime minister left the country, the Foreign Office wrote a letter to the PIA to keep a plane on standby. "This practice had been followed even under former PM Imran Khan," she pointed out.

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She maintained that the number of the PM’s delegation would be much less than all previous visits. “The prime minister’s delegation will consist of only 13 members,” the info minister said.

During the briefing to the committee on the “Digital Radio Migration” project, she said that over the time period, modern technology is indispensable in institutions.

Earlier, the Standing Committee congratulated Marriyum Aurangzeb on assuming the charge of the Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting.