Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said on Wednesday that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) decision to change chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and appoint a new parliamentary leader was in fact a show of “no trust” in the leadership of Shehbaz Sharif.
In a tweet, the SAPM said that till return of his son Salman Shahbaz and son-in-law Ali Imran to give explanation for embezzled money, Shehbaz Sharif would remain under mental stress. She said the allegation of state terrorism from the mouth of the sponsors of Gullu Butt was a big joke.
Firdous said that perhaps PML-N leadership had forgotten the worst example of terrorism in Model Town Lahore during their rule. She said that the perpetrators of Model Town carnage were now facing divine justice.
Meanwhile, Firdous explained the grounds on which an interview of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari was pulled shortly after it started airing on a private news channel on Monday.
The government’s spokesperson provided the explanation in response to a question from Senator Ghous Mohammad Khan Niazi in a meeting of the Senate’s Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting. She said that though the issue was not a part of the meeting’s agenda, she could explain it in detail.
She said that the interview was pulled under the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) rules for three reasons.
“[Firstly], an under-trial suspect who is in the custody of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) can not appear in an interview before cameras in parliament,” she explained.
“[Secondly] the permission of the National Assembly speaker is a prerequisite for bringing in cameras into the parliament,” she said, adding that “[Finally], there is a designated spot outside the parliament for media talks [where such interviews should be held].”
“The interview was [therefore] conducted in violation of the rules of parliament,” she concluded, adding that PEMRA rules too do not allow the broadcasting of an interview of an accused who is under investigation and on remand.
Later, when some journalists asked her why an interview of Taliban terrorist Ehsanullah Ehsan was allowed to air (yet a former president’s interview was blocked), she rhetorically asked, “Was Ehsanullah Ehsan an under-trial prisoner under investigation by NAB [when his interview was aired]? Was he on remand? Was he interviewed inside parliament with three [unauthorised] cameras]?”
Senator Faisal Javed, who was chairing the meeting, rejected a proposal by Senator Rehman Malik to invite Asif Ali Zardari to the committee’s next meeting “as a victim of character assassination”. Javed said that Zardari is already a member of parliament and another committee already existed to address the issue.
Malik also raised the issue of fake news and said that relevant laws should be amended to stop fake news. He stressed the need to develop a consensus on measures to curb the menace.
“I am not raising the issue for my party only but for all political parties. A sub-committee of the standing committee should be constituted to compile suggestions,” he said.
Firdous also shared the concerns of Malik on fake news but said that the government “does not want to impose censorship”. She agreed that there were apprehensions about fake news and everyone wanted a responsible media.
She said that the government had already tasked the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to devise a strategy against fake news. She also stressed the need to bring about reforms in PEMRA.
Talking about social media, she regretted that “unguided missiles” are fired from social media platforms. She also stressed the need to devise a mechanism to monitor social media.
