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PTI leader Shireen Mazari condemned the suspension of Pakistani TV channel ARY News saying it was forcefully removed from screens by the Shehbaz Sharif-led government for releasing a report that exposed the "inept and corrupt" government.
"Right now ARY still remains forcefully removed from screens by Imported govt because this cabal of crooks has no democratic moorings and cannot bear being exposed for what it is - inept and corrupt," she said taking to Twitter on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) on Monday issued a show-cause notice to ARY News for airing what it called was "false, hateful and seditious" content and describing it as a threat to national security, Dawn reported. Prior to the issuance of the notice, ARY News went off air in many parts of the country on Monday evening. During his talk with the channel, Gill had alleged that PML-N tried to build a narrative to provoke the lower and middle tier of the army against the PTI, saying the families of such "rank and file" support Imran Khan and his party which is giving rise to severe instability and rage within the government". As per Dawn, Gill also alleged that the "strategic media cell" of the ruling coalition was spreading false information. The government leaders, including Javed Latif, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and former National Assembly speaker Ayaz Sadiq, had lambasted the army in the past "and they were at the government positions now", Gill said. Notably, according to PEMRA, the comments aired by the TV channel violated Section 20 of Pemra Ordinance 2002 and Electronic Media (Programmes and Advertisements) Code of Conduct 2015. ARY News' transmission was suspended in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Sialkot, Hyderabad, Faisalabad and other cities. As the news outlet shutdown continued, many leaders of Imran Khan's party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) took to Twitter and registered their protests. Earlier, a report compiled by the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors highlighted that Pakistan's media freedom has been under serious question. The media freedom report paints an abysmal picture of the realities of being a journalist in the country. It highlights how, in the last year alone, many journalists were killed in the line of duty and how overall attempts to stifle the media and block access to information have grown, according to Dawn. In the past year, the financial standing of media houses has also worsened. Two media workers took their own lives due to unemployment. The situation today, the report concludes, is worse than during the previous two years. Media workers, both field reporters and desk staff are increasingly experiencing either harassment or financial hardship or both. They are being threatened, silenced and squeezed. Be it a prime-time TV anchor or a beat reporter, the threats exist for everyone. Even media group owners are not immune to such harassment. (ANI)
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