Pakistan media faced darkest period under Imran Khan, says Pak IB Minister

Islamabad [Pakistan], July 17 (ANI): Pakistan's Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb said that ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan's era was the darkest period for the media and that the PTI chairman has left no stone unturned to make the country another Sri Lanka.
Addressing a news conference, the minister alleged Imran Khan is a habitual liar and a failed person, he only knows how to lie. She said that Imran is saying the media was the most independent in his time whereas the Reporters Without Borders reports show that there were threats to the lives of journalists in his regime, News International reported.
"If any news was published against him, the journalist would not be left alive. Imran is saying that the media was the most independent in his time, there was no restriction and censorship on the media, but reports show that during Imran Khan's time, media agencies were banned, channels were closed, and there were threats to the lives of reporters and Imran Khan threatened journalists," she said.
Marriyum said the report of Reporters Without Borders is Imran Khan's original worksheet.
"2019 report of Human Rights Watch said that during Imran Khan's time, programs on TV channels were stopped, several media channels were stopped from broadcasting and if someone did not stop channel programs, its reporters and staff were attacked," she said while pointing out that the report is on the internet.
She referred to another report issued in 2021, saying that 10 journalists were killed and several arrested during Imran Khan's time and four years of censorship was done in the country by giving death threats to journalists through censorship, and journalists who did not listen were jailed, the News International reported.
"I salute journalists who stood firm during Imran Khan's bitter tenure," she remarked.
Aurangzeb said that while Imran Khan was afraid of fake news, his entire politics was fake. "When it came to fake news, he would have brought a law on fake news but he tried to bring a law to suppress media freedom instead, which we reversed," she asserted.
"Imran Khan was in the government for four years, he put off air his political opponents from the TV screen while he paralyzed all state institutions, made the Prime Minister's House a den of kidnappers, and fulfilled his political ambitions," she added.
"Imran Khan is habitual of election theft and fraud while he sent the youth of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to Punjab for rioting and bullying. He wanted to fight the brothers, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa," Mariyyum said claiming that the PTI bought identity cards and votes by paying money, the News International reported.
Speaking of the Punjab bypolls, Marriyum was confident that PML-N would mark the victory in the province against Imran Khan's PTI.
"The by-election would be a victory for the party which always pulled Pakistan out of economic crises and led to economic stability. PMLN has taken steps to bring the people out of the storm of inflation and reduce inflation.It can bring the country out of darkness and spread lights and that PMLN that rids the country of the menace of terrorism, breaks the backs of terrorists and restores peace in the country," she said.
However, it is interesting to note that Imran Khan's PTI is leading in 17 seats of the 20 provincial seats in Punjab.
The massive alliance of big leaders like Pakistan's former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, PM Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice-President Maryam Nawaz, Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman is nearing a big defeat in the province.
There are only 2 seats where PLM-N is leading and 1 seat for Independent.
Punjab was under the control of the PTI party until April when then-Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar resigned after the federal parliament took up a no-confidence against Khan. (ANI)