'If everything is controlled, no one can control outcomes,' Javed Latif warns govt

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The chairman of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting Javed Latif addressing a press conference in Islamabad, on September 7, 2021. — YouTube
The chairman of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting Javed Latif addressing a press conference in Islamabad, on September 7, 2021. — YouTube

  • "Have we not learned anything from the [fall of Dhaka]," PML-N leader Javed Latif asks.
  • Latif slams the government's Pakistan Media Development Authority proposal.
  • PML-N leader says people working in line with constitution should not fear media.


If the state controls everything, then no one can control the outcomes, PML-N leader Javed Latif said Tuesday, as he warned the PTI-led government.

The chairman of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting Javed Latif, addressing a press conference in Islamabad, said the country suffered consequences due to the restrictions imposed on it.

"Have we not learned anything from the [fall of Dhaka]," the committee chairman said.

The PML-N leader asked whether pointing out mistakes was a violation of the Constitution, as he referred to a case in which he was arrested for "anti-Pakistan" remarks.

Latif highlighted that people working in line with the Constitution should not fear media, as he slammed the government's Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA).

The PML-N leader said the PMDA bill has not passed in the assembly and journalists had already been attacked in Islamabad.

On August 20, key stakeholders of media and civil society completely rejected the "draconian" government proposal to create a new authority to regulate the entire spectrum of the country’s media sector, as well as its attempt to "wrongly claim support for it."

'Political joker'

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, addressing a press conference after Latif in Islamabad, had said he was a "political joker and an attention seeker, as he keeps making attempts to get the army's support".

He belongs to a party whose "unfortunate policy is to sit outside GHQ's gate and seek the attention of institutions", the information minister added.