Ban on Nawaz Sharif: PML-N should move court to reverse PEMRA's decision, Chaudhry says
October 02, 2020
Federal minister Fawad Chaudhry has suggested that the PML-N should move the courts to reverse the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority's (PEMRA) ban on Nawaz Sharif's speeches being aired on national media.
"The PTI government is not behind this restriction," he told Geo News while speaking during an appearance on 'Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath' on Thursday.
"A senior lawyer, Azhar Siddique, took the Sindh High Court's order [in this regard] to PEMRA, which then imposed the ban," he said.
Chaudhry also dismissed the PML-N's narrative regarding the federal government's economic performance, terming it 'misplaced'.
"The PTI government got a bankrupt country when it took over governance," he told Geo News,
"We took the country from bankruptcy to $12.5 billion [in foreign exchange] reserves today. Hence, the PML-N narrative is wrong."
He said the PML-N itself is responsible for the current debilitating economic conditions about which they frequently speak out against. Hence, it does not suit them to talk about these issues, he maintained.
"As regards governance, it is a global problem," the minister said, adding that former US president Barack Obama had said in 2013 that it is an uphill task for every government of the world to manage expectations owing to the excessive flow of information enabled by social media.
He said Babar Awan had resigned from government duties after he faced allegations and only returned after he had been cleared by the courts. Similarly, Aleem Khan went to jail, got bail, pursued his case and returned once he was cleared, he said.
"If the NAB chairman has not formalised a case against Khusro Bakhtiar, he must have some legal reasons for not doing so," the minister said in response to a question.
He further offered that if anyone has an objection to how things are, they should challenge these matters in the Supreme Court.
He said Nawaz Sharif should move the court in the same manner as he did in the Memogate scandal case.
