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Pakistan’s military has been running an organized campaign to muzzle Imran Khan and his party PTI, according to Qatari based media Al Jazeera.
According to Al Jazeerah, a Lahore based Journalist Amir Mehmood claimed that an official from Pakistan’s military, which has directly ruled over Pakistan for more than three decades of its 75-year existence as a constitutional republic and has controlled most levers of power, from behind the scenes, even when civilian governments have been in office, told him to completely censor Imran Khan and his party.
In essence, Mehmood revealed that someone highlighted concerns about our election coverage, urging us to avoid using flags or indicating affiliations with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party. The directive specified labeling candidates as ‘independent’ without disclosing their party ties. This directive is part of a wider trend, as several journalists from various news outlets disclosed to Al Jazeera that they have been subject to instructions imposing significant censorship on PTI coverage leading up to Pakistan’s February 8 elections.
Founded by former Prime Minister Imran Khan, PTI is considered the country’s most popular political party. However, Khan, currently in custody since August 2023, faces corruption and state secrets leakage charges that he dismisses as politically motivated. Following his parliamentary defeat in April 2022, Khan and PTI experienced a crackdown, with numerous arrests and party leaders resigning under alleged military pressure.
The Election Commission rejected nomination papers for Khan and other PTI leaders, and the Supreme Court upheld the decision to strip PTI of its election symbol, the cricket bat. Media restrictions on Khan’s speeches and rallies were already in place, and recent instructions indicate a broader restriction on PTI coverage.
Beyond journalists, the Human Rights Watch reported increased government pressure on media outlets and individuals. Mehmood noted that this pattern of instructions from the establishment has persisted, previously affecting other parties and now targeting PTI.