Vexing question to PM costs journalist his job

Asking a vexing question regarding “diminishing space for freedom of speech” and curbs on media in Pakistan to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif apparently has cost a senior journalist his job at the state-run television. Azam Chaudary, who not only serves as the president of the Lahore Press Club but also worked as a contract employee for Pakistan Television (PTV), was informed immediately after the prime minister's press conference on the second day of Eid that his services were no longer required. Ironically, this press conference took place at the Governor's House, where Finance Minister Ishaq Dar boasted about his government’s media-friendly policy, claiming to allow anyone to attend the press conference. Dar also chided the previous Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government for only inviting chosen journalists to their media interactions. However, it appeared that leading journalists from prominent English dailies were excluded from this particular presser. During the press conference, Chaudary posed a two-part question to the prime minister, addressing the widespread media restrictions in the country. He inquired about the end of these restrictions and when journalists would be granted the freedom to speak and write without constraint. Read more: Pakistan aims for transformative $30-50b investment boost in agri sector In response, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed his disapproval of curbs on media freedom but deflected responsibility to Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb. Aurangzeb, while acknowledging the need to distinguish between politics and the authority of the state, emphasized that the two should be treated separately. Shortly after the press conference, Chaudary, who had been providing his services as an analyst for PTV since September the previous year, was informed that he would no longer participate in the program at the Governor's House. Azam, who had been part of the pioneering team behind the program 'Ba-Khaber,' which launched in the middle of the previous year, expressed his concerns about the suffocating environment in which journalists in Pakistan operate. He lamented the lack of freedom to express themselves freely, further underscoring the challenging circumstances faced by the country's journalists.

from Pakistan News, Latest News Pakistan, Pakistan Headline | The Express Tribune https://ift.tt/09oahI2