Education Minister Shafqat Mehmood, while giving a post-cabinet press briefing on Tuesday, said the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) will be asked to justify the airing of interviews of under-trial prisoners.
On July 1, an interview of former president Asif Ali Zardari was pulled off air shortly after it being airing on a private news channel.
Hamid Mir, who was the interviewer of the programme on Geo News, had taken to Twitter to express his outrage over the incident. “I can only say sorry to my viewers that an interview was started and stopped on Geo New[s] I will share the details soon but it’s easy to understand who stopped it? We are not living in a free country,” he had written.
In today’s press conference, Mehmood said that “in no democracy, anywhere in the world, is the media coverage of under-trial prisoners permitted”.
“A person accused of undermining the future of the country — a country, which is steeped deep in Rs30,000bn of debt — [accused] of taking advantage of his office, of having (illegally) earned billions and accumulating billions abroad, appears in court and has flower petals showered on him,” exclaimed Mehmood in disbelief, referring in not so veiled terms to former President Asif Ali Zardari. “And then he gives an interview to the media!”
“You are under arrest and have been accused of looting the nation’s wealth […] you are let out briefly [to attend parliamentary sessions] and you are giving interviews to the media and having flowers showered on you,” he remarked.
“This does not take place in any democracy anywhere. Yes, its understandable if a person is out on bail: they may give interviews and do whatever they think they must,” he said.
The education minister noted that the production order’s purpose is to call in a member of the Assembly to cast his vote so that on the passing of a bill, their absence is not taken advantage of by the government.
“But you come and give speeches and interviews to the media,” he said, directly addressing Zardari, who is facing a corruption probe launched against him by National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
Mehmood said that in today’s cabinet meeting, it was decided that Pemra will be asked how it is allowing something which does not take place in any democracy.
“If I go into the history of the production order […] let me tell you how this tradition came into being. This is not a law, it is a custom. This custom came into being because when there is a vote of confidence or some such matter where the government is formed on the basis of votes, the production order guards against the fact that the government could arrest all the MNAs (to get its way). The production order is there so that they (all MNAs) can cast their vote,” he explained.
“But here… when Shehbaz Sharif’s production orders were issued, he actually had the NAB chairman — who had arrested him — summoned. In which democracy do these things take place?” Mehmood asked.
The education minister then sought to assert that the party is not, in any way, against the freedom of the media.
“Tehreek-i-Insaf believes wholeheartedly in the freedom of the press. We have stood with the media and struggled with them in our 22-year history.
“But these sorts of traditions have no mention in the history of democracy anywhere,” he reiterated.
