PTI chief blames military for journalists’ abduction during his rule
LAHORE: PTI Chairman Imran Khan has blamed the military for the alleged abductions of journalists when he was the prime minister.
In an interview with journalist Mehdi Hasan on MSNBC, aired on Monday, Mr. Khan was grilled over the atrocities committed against the journalists during his reign in power when he brought up the current restrictions on media and journalists.
The PTI chairman shrugged off the comparison as a “false equivalence”, saying that no news channel was closed and no journalist was forced to leave the country when he was in power.
He added that the only journalist to be picked up was Matiullah Jan, and he too was recovered the next day when he learned about the case.
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Pakistan was “at the tail end of the war on terror” and “the establishment” was wary about any criticism from journalists, he said. “So they were responsible for a few guys who were picked up.”
However, it was nothing compared to what’s happening at the moment, he claimed, adding that “four of the country’s top journalists” left the country while the fifth one, Arshad Sharif, wrote a letter to the Supreme Court chief justice that his life was in danger. “He escaped [but] he was killed in Kenya.”
Mr. Khan also referred to his unannounced blackout from TV news channels, claiming that not even his name could be mentioned.
At this point, the host interjected, saying when he was the prime minister, the name of PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif couldn’t be mentioned on air.
Mr. Khan called this comparison baseless as well, saying that Mr. Sharif was convicted by the Supreme Court and “faked illnesses” to leave for England.
“You can’t compare what is happening to me. I’m not convicted but the media couldn’t say my name.”
Source: Dawn
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