LAHORE: The Lahore High Court disposed of a petition of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan against a de facto ban on his coverage on news channels after he withdrew it.

The court directed his counsel to approach the media regulatory body’s council of complaints first. Earlier, the court asked Imran’s counsel whether his client filed an appeal before the council of complaints of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) against the alleged ban.

The counsel told the court that his client approached the court directly as two petitions with similar matters were already pending adjudication.

The court, therefore, asked the counsel to avail the first remedy provided in the law and disposed of the petition.

The petitioner pleaded that the impugned ban curbed his fundamental rights and also denied him the opportunity to publicly express his views to the members of his political party and the general public.

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

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023