The Facts
The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) on Sunday banned TV channels from broadcasting speeches and news conferences by former PM Imran Khan, accusing him of spreading hate speech and baselessly attacking state institutions and officers.
This follows Khan's address to his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party's supporters outside his home in the city of Lahore, where he criticized his successor Shehbaz Sharif and claimed the military was protecting incumbent rulers in alleged corruption cases.
The Spin
Narrative A
This ban is disgraceful as the media regulator is clearly violating the constitutional right to freedom of expression. Censoring the statements of any political leader is an unjustified move that hinders the public's access to relevant information. Khan's claims of conspiracies against him only grow stronger as the government blatantly tries to wipe him from the public airwaves.
Narrative B
Khan has been making agitational speeches to his political base as he seeks to disseminate hate against Pakistan's institutions and officers, engendering chaos and turmoil in the country. In adherence to the provisions of its Electronic Media Code of Conduct 2015, this is the third time – and hopefully the last– that PEMRA has had to impose such restrictions on Khan.
