PM Khan rejects suggestion to go Nawaz speech at the APC off-air

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan did not stop television news channels for airing the speech of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif at the All Parties Conference (APC) on Sunday.
According to informed sources, the Prime Minister rejected the suggestion from his aides to write a letter to the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) in order to block the transmission of Nawaz’s speech in the media.
A day prior, the government had said that it would use the PEMRA and other laws to take action if the former prime minister’s address to the APC is broadcast. Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Political Communication, Dr Shahbaz Gill, said on Saturday that it is not possible that an “absconding criminal” takes part in political activities and gives speeches.
“The Sharif family can tell nothing but lies. They are such [habitual] liars that they even lied about a disease,” he said.
According to sources, the PM was told that there are court orders in which the culprit is barred from making statements on media, suggesting that PEMRA should implement such decisions.
However, the Prime Minister did not agree to the suggestions from his aides. “Nawaz Sharif will expose himself to the people with his speech. He [Nawaz Sharif] is lying so let him lie,” the Prime Minister said as per sources.
Meanwhile, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Accountability Shahzad Akbar in his statement said that it is claimed that the media is not free in Pakistan, but the nation has heard the live speech of a “convicted notorious criminal against the law”.
Akbar said that the opposition leaders stress on “respecting the vote” on one hand, and at the same time they leave the voters and run away to London in times of despair.
He said that the former prime minister is adamant that “only the judge who acquits them despite the evidence” is acceptable. – TLTP