ISLAMABAD – Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb has dismissed the reports that the government fired a journalist working for the state-run PTV for asking Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif a pinching question at Tuesday’s press conference.
In a tweet, she said that Azam Chaudhry was not and had never been a Pakistan Television Corporation employee. She said that he has only been a member of an issues-based analyst pool for PTV. He has not been removed from the pool and has not been asked to leave.
She clarified that nothing of the sort has been communicated to him and he is part of the PTV Lahore analysts pool as she was writing this tweet. She said the views and opinions of the said journalist were known to the government at the time he was invited to the press conference.
“If the government wanted to suppress his voice or questions, he would not have been invited and given an opportunity to ask his questions. The Prime Minister answered his questions in detail,” she said.
The minister said that she also answered his questions. She said the PM spent a significant amount of time answering questions from various reporters at Governor’s House that day.
The minister said that unlike the previous “PTI regime and its fascist PM, who was declared a Press Freedom Predator by Reporters Without Borders”, PM Shehbaz and the present government firmly believe in freedom of the media.
The PTI government used to allow only selected reporters and journalists to its “fascist PM’s press conferences”, she remarked. The present government ensured that PM Shehbaz Sharif’s press conferences are open to all reporters and journalists.
The minister said that this story was published without taking the government’s point of view, which was unprofessional and fell short of journalistic ethics and standards.
FACT CHECK
This story is completely false and baseless. A few facts to set the record straight:
1. Azam Chaudhry is not a PTV employee and has never been a PTV employee.2. He is and has only been a member of an issues-based analyst pool for PTV. He has not been removed from… https://t.co/matRVlK0fO pic.twitter.com/5fKJAm53bO
— Marriyum Aurangzeb (@Marriyum_A) July 11, 2023
However, according to Chauhdry, the PTV hired his services, but after he asked the premier a challenging question, he was fired without having received a written notice from his employer till now.
Chaudhry had asked the prime minister a question about curbs on the media at a news conference on June 30 in the presence of federal ministers Ishaq Dar and Marriyum Aurangzeb.
Addressing the prime minister, Chaudhry said he was speaking on behalf of all Pakistani journalists who are “facing curbs all over Pakistan”. He said, “The incumbent government is the worst in terms of media freedom.”
All parties, including the PML-N and the PPP, talk about the freedom of expression, but their actions do not support their claims, he said.
The prime minister replied that he opposed restrictions on the media and referred the issue to the information minister.
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