Marriyum turns down allegation of firing PTV journalist from his position
ISLAMABAD, July 11 (SABAH): Federal Minister for Information and
Broadcasting, Marriyum Aurangzeb has made it clear that unlike the
previous Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government and its fascist PM, who
was declared a Press Freedom Predator by Reporters Without Borders (RSF),
PM Shehbaz Sharif and the present government firmly believe in media
freedom.
Marriyum Aurangzeb turned down an allegation that journalist was fired
from his position at PTV, after posing a critical question to PM Shehbaz about
the diminishing space for free media in the country. She added that the
story was completely false and baseless.
She clarified that Azam Chaudhry was not a PTV employee and has never
been its employee and added, “Chaudhry is and has only been a member of
an issues-based analyst pool for PTV. He has not been removed from this
pool and has not been asked to leave. Nothing of the sort has been
communicated to him. He is part of PTV Lahore Analyst pool as I write this
tweet.
Marriyum further elaborated, “The views and opinions of this journalist were
known to the government at the time he was invited to the press
conference. If the government wanted to suppress his voice or questions, he
would not have been invited and given the opportunity to ask his questions.
The Prime Minister answered his questions in detail. I answered his
questions as well. The Prime Minister spent a significant amount of time
answering questions from various reporters in the room at Governor House
Lahore that day.”
She maintained, “Unlike the previous PTI government and its fascist PM,
who was declared a Press Freedom Predator by Reporters Without Borders
(RSF), PM Shehbaz Sharif and the present government firmly believe in
media freedom. The PTI government used to only allow selected reporters
and journalists to its fascist PM's press conferences. The present government
ensures that PM Shehbaz Sharif's press conferences are open to all reporters
and journalists.”
Marriyum promises to take country out of quagmire
Federal Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb on Tuesday vowed to take the country out of the quagmire.
Speaking to media, Aurangzeb took a swipe at the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), saying, “The police and Rangers’ vehicles were set to fire at Zaman Park. Through the use of the vote, the PTI chief was removed from his position as prime minister”.
“During the PTI’s tenure, nothing has been done to promote the growth of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). The people of KP will no longer vote for the PTI chief”, she maintained.
Aurangzeb praised her party, saying, “The PML-N has a history of advancing the country. Before we leave the government, we will solve every issue that the masses are facing”.