Coverage on electronic media: IK approaches LHC against de facto ban

LAHORE: Chairman PTI Imran Khan has approached the Lahore High Court against a de facto ban on the coverage of all material relating to him on the electronic media.

The petitioner through his counsel contended that there is a misconceived ban airing/broadcasting of any content regarding the petitioner.

He said that the fact of the ban is obvious from viewing the television screens where anchorpersons uttering the petitioner’s name are censored and his name and images are removed.

It pleads that the de facto ban is a misconceived purported implementation of a general directive to the television channels issued by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra), which has not been communicated to the petitioner.

He argued that the impugned ban curbs the fundamental rights of the petitioner and also denies him the opportunity to publicly express his views to his party workers and the general public.

He, therefore, asked the court to declare the impugned ban on the coverage of the petitioner unconstitutional.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023