- IHC Concludes Imran Khan’s Plea Against Live Speech Ban.
- Court orders PEMRA to regulate Khan’s live speeches.
- IHC asks if the president of the PTI wants to harm the morale of the army.
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday asked whether PTI Chairman Imran Khan intended to harm the morale of the armed forces by making anti-military speeches.
The remarks by IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah came during a hearing against the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) order banning TV stations from broadcasting the speeches live of Khan.
At the last hearing, the IHC Chief Justice suspended the order until September 5 and observed that the regulator “has no power” to issue such orders.
Attorney Ali Zafar represented Khan at today’s hearing and a PEMRA representative was also present to brief the court on the regulator’s position.
After hearing arguments from both parties, the court closed the case.
The PEMRA ban came into effect on August 21 after the PTI president threatened state institutions and government officials with severe consequences.
PEMRA’s notification says Khan’s addresses are in clear violation of the regulator’s rules and Article 19 of the Constitution of Pakistan.
According to the regulator, the ban was put in place under Section 27 of the PEMRA Ordinance of 2002. The PEMRA notification cited Khan’s speech at F9 Park, Islamabad, as the reason for the ban.
Besides the ban, Khan is also facing contempt of court proceedings for threatening District Judge and Extra Sessions Zeba Chaudhry during the same speech.
Today’s audience
At today’s hearing, PEMRA’s attorney informed IHC that the regulator had issued a show cause notice to delay the broadcast of his live speeches. In response, the IHC Chief Justice asked why the regulator had not ensured the rule to delay live speeches was followed.
“Many responsible people make irresponsible statements. You [PEMRA] must abide by the law and the court will not interfere,” the IHC Chief Justice said.
Moving on to Khan’s lawyer, the IHC Chief Justice asked if he had heard the PTI President’s speech in Faisalabad a day earlier – where he said the government was delaying elections for name his choice of an army leader.
“Did you hear Imran Khan’s speech yesterday? Do political leaders make such speeches? the IHC Chief Justice asked, referring to the popular TV drama in which nine noble families wage war against each other for control of a mythical land.
IHC CJ Minallah said that the armed forces sacrifice their lives for the nation and in case someone is involved in illegal activity, not everyone should be criticized for it.
“Hold yourself responsible for your actions. You [Khan] do you want to issue statements according to your wishes and do you not want the regulator to do its job? »
“Do you want to hurt the morale of the army by making anti-army statements? Do you think someone in the army is not a patriot?” questioned the Chief Justice of the IHC.
He told Khan’s lawyer that when a statement is released in public it has its own impact.
Following this, the IHC, in light of the Supreme Court rulings, asked PEMRA to regulate Khan’s speeches and closed the case filed by the PTI President.
