Gill rebuts Shehbaz Sharif’s statement alleging govt of curtailing press freedom

ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Political Communication Dr Shahbaz Gill on Monday rebutted Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif’s statement alleging the government of curtailing the media freedom.

“How would the ones controlling media through money know about media’s freedom?” Dr Shahbaz Gill asked in response to Shehbaz’s statement.

Read more: Shahbaz Gill to visit media houses to demand increase in journalists’ salaries

He said the disqualified former prime minister had handed over billions of rupees to the “Calibri Queen”.

The PM’s aide said Maryam Nawaz continued to use media with public tax money for purposes of her party. Giving orders to media owners over the telephone to manage programmes was a restriction on press freedom, he said.

He said the PML-N controlled media through advertisement money. When did those abusing journalists become advocates of freedom of the press? he asked.

Earlier, Shehbaz Sharif said foreign investment would not come into Pakistan, if the condition of freedom of press remained bad.

He said the CPNE’s ‘Media Freedom Report’ was based on eye-opening facts and it was another indictment against the current government.

Read more: Shehbaz fears press freedom’s condition to hamper foreign investment’s flow into Pakistan

The Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) on January 30 released a report regarding situation of freedom of media and journalists in Pakistan, according to which the press freedom has further deteriorated here as compared to the previous two years.