Pak media watchdog bars TV channels from airing Imran Khan's speeches

Pakistan's electronic media watchdog on Saturday prohibited television channels from broadcasting or rebroadcasting ousted premier Imran Khan's speeches or media talks, saying airing such content would likely to create hatred among the people and endanger national security.

The Pakistan Electronic Media and Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) warned that it will suspend the broadcasting licence in case of any violation.

In case of any violation, the observed licence may be suspended without any show-cause notice in the public interest along with other enabling provisions of law, it said in a notification.

It also said that Khan during his long march speeches and a day ago in an address from hospital made aspersions against the state institutions by levelling baseless allegations for orchestrating an assassination plan.

The media watchdog said that airing such content violated several laws and was likely to create hatred among the people or was prejudicial to the maintenance of law and order or was likely to disturb public peace and tranquillity or endanger national security.

Khan, 70, suffered a bullet injury in the right leg when two gunmen fired a volley of bullets at him in the Wazirabad area of Punjab province on Thursday, where he was leading a protest march against the Shehbaz Sharif government.