LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) vice president Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday removed ARY News’ mic before addressing a press conference here in Punjab’s capital, ARY News reported.
The PML-N leader once again singled-out ARY News and not only removed the most popular news channel’s mic ahead of presser but also leveled a number of allegations against the media house.
This is not the first time that the PML-N leader has attacked ARY News directly.
Earlier this month, Maryam Nawaz openly called for crushing ARY News after the channel ran a story on former Sindh governor Imran Ismail’s tweet.
Then in her speech during May 19 Sargodha rally, the PML-N leader once again threatened ARY News along with her political rival Imran Khan. The move was condemned by journalist organisations and general public.
Ary removed from cables across pakistan.Maryam nawaz ne jalsa main ary pe tanqeed shuru ker aur ab Marium ne channel band ker dia.opposition main jamhooriat ka dard hai ke sone nahin deta.hukoomat main asliyat Nazar aati in sab ki
— Kashif Abbasi (@Kashifabbasiary) May 24, 2022
ARY News management strongly condemned Maryam Nawaz’s threats against the channel and reiterated that the channel will continue reporting facts which its primary duty as a media channel.
ARY News management, however, made it clear that if any of its journalists or workers get attacked after these threats from a national-level leader, the case will be registered against Maryam Nawaz.
مریم نواز کے الزامات اور دھمکیوں کی مذمت کرتے ہیں: اے آر وائی نیوز انتظامیہ
A number of journalist bodies also condemned today’s incident of removal of ARY News’ mic ahead of press conference.
Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) Vice President Lala Asad Pathan said that it is unbecoming of a national level leader to target a news channel. He added that the statements and behaviour of Maryam Nawaz towards a popular news channel leaves its workers and journalists vulnerable to attacks from PML-N supporters and workers.
میڈیم مریم نواز شریف اتنا غصہ کیوں 🤔
آپ سمیت تمام اتحادیوں کی تمام پریس کانفرنسز اور خبریں تو ARY نیوز پر چل تو رہی ہیں ✍️🤗
ہیں مگر آپ کے مخالف پارٹی کا بیانیہ نشر کرنا جرم ہے تو یہ جرم آزادی صحافت کا بنیادی حق ہے ✍️✌️🇵🇰 pic.twitter.com/CLQRbb0a0D— Saeed Jahan Alias Lala Asad (@LalaAsadPathan) May 24, 2022
It is also pertinent to note here that ARY News has already been taken off air in a number of cities across the country since morning.
