Pakistan telecoms regulator bans TV speeches by ‘proclaimed offenders, absconders’

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) on Thursday banned the broadcast of speeches, interviews and public addresses by “absconders and proclaimed offenders.”
The ban comes hours after Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif accused the country’s military of political interference, saying in a televised speech from exile in London that the army had rigged the 2018 election. The military and present government have both denied the charge.
Sharif’s third term as prime minister ran from 2013 to 2017, when he was removed by the Supreme Court amid revelations over his personal wealth. Last year he was released on bail from a seven-year prison sentence for corruption and flown to London for medical treatment. He has not returned and Prime Minister Imran Khan has said his government will bring him back from London through a court order.
“A self-explanatory complaint received from Mr. Muhammad Azhar Siddique against the several news channels in particular who aired the interview/speech/ public addresses of an absconder or a proclaimed offender,” PEMRA said in its order, reminding news channels that they were bound to comply with PEMRA laws.
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Political Communication, Dr. Shahbaz Gill, told media an “absconding criminal” would not be allowed to take part in political activities or deliver speeches on live TV.
Sharif’s allegations have also sparked an angry response from PM Khan, who in his own televised remarks on Thursday said Sharif was “playing a very dangerous game” by humiliating the military and intelligence services. He dismissed the allegations of rigged elections as baseless.

Pakistan telecoms regulator bans TV speeches by ‘proclaimed offenders, absconders’