Home Latest News IHC Wraps Up Imran Khan’s Plea to Restore Live Broadcast of His Speeches

IHC Wraps Up Imran Khan’s Plea to Restore Live Broadcast of His Speeches

Chief Justice Athar Minallah questions if PTI chairman wants to hurt morale of Army with his remarks

by Staff Report

Farooq Naeem—AFP

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday disposed of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s petition against the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA)’s prohibition on broadcasting his speeches live, with Chief Justice Athar Minallah lashing out at the ousted prime minister over a speech about the appointment of the next Army chief.

In the previous hearing, the chief justice had suspended until Sept. 5 an earlier order of PEMRA to suspend the live broadcast of Khan’s speeches, claiming the regulator did not have the authority to issue such orders. He had then suspended PEMRA’s directive to allow Khan to participate in a telethon to gather funds for flood relief.

During Monday’s hearing, PEMRA’s counsel informed the IHC the regulator had issued a show-cause notice to delay the airing of Khan’s live speeches to which Minallah had questioned why all channels were not following the policy of a time-delay on all live speeches. “Several responsible people issue irresponsible statements. You [PEMRA] have to follow the law and the court will not interfere in it,” he said, before turning to Khan’s lawyer, who he questioned about a speech the PTI chairman had delivered in Faisalabad a day earlier.

In his address, Khan had alleged the ruling coalition wished to appoint a “favorite” to the position of Army chief, adding they feared a “patriotic” Chief of Army Staff would act against their alleged corruption. The speech has provoked condemnations, with senior analysts questioning if Khan believes any of the senior military leadership is “unpatriotic.”

During proceedings, the IHC chief justice asked Khan’s counsel if he had listened to the PTI chairman’s speech. “Do political leaders deliver such speeches? Will everything be put at stake just for the sake of a game of thrones?” he asked.

Stressing that members of the armed forces laid down their lives for the nation daily, he said if an individual were implicated in an illegal activity, this did not suggest everyone should be criticized over it. “Hold yourself accountable for your actions. You [Khan] want to issue statements as per your wishes and don’t want the regulator [PEMRA] to do its job?” he said.

“Do you want to hurt the morale of the Army by giving anti-Army statements? Do you think that anyone in the Army is not a patriot?” he continued, adding that any public statement had an impact that could not be ignored.

Referring to relevant rulings of the Supreme Court, the IHC then directed PEMRA to ensure Khan’s speeches were time-delayed and not broadcast live.

PEMRA’s ban on the live broadcast of Khan’s speeches was notified on Aug. 21 after the PTI chairman threatened state institutions and government officials with serious consequences for acting against his party. PEMRA’s notification had described Khan’s address as being in violation of its rules and Article 19 of the Constitution.

Following the ruling, PEMRA re-issued directions to all TV operators, emphasizing they were banned from airing any live speech and needed to ensure a time-delay mechanism was in place.

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