TV channel issued notice over airing Mohsin Baig's statement against finance minister

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) on Friday issued a show-cause notice to a private news channel for airing a controversial statement, ARY News reported.

According to ARY News, the channel had broadcast a controversial statement by journalist Mohsin Baig targeting Federal Minister for Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb.

Following the broadcast of the statement, a negative propaganda campaign was launched against Aurangzeb on social media.

The PEMRA show-cause notice reads, “Why should action not be taken against the private channel for airing the disputed statement?”

Sources said that the journalist made inappropriate remarks against the Finance Minister during a program aired over the Eid holidays.

The journalist accused Muhammad Aurangzeb of being physically and mentally absent during office hours, claiming this was the reason behind the sorry state of the country’s economy.

Earlier, addressing a joint news conference along with Minister of State for Finance, Bilal Azhar Kayani in Islamabad today, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has said that the government wants to expand the tax net to reduce the burden on existing taxpayers.

, he said that Pakistan’s economy remained stable despite last year’s floods and the ongoing Middle East conflict.

He added that Pakistan overcame these challenges using its indigenous resources and did not seek foreign assistance in this regard. He emphasized that in order to generate revenue, the expansion of the tax net is inevitable. He said that a fixed tax scheme is being introduced for small traders and retailers.

Outlining details of the scheme, Bilal Azhar Kayani said that the scheme carries a fixed tax rate of one percent, while any withholding tax already deducted will be adjusted against it.