Controversy Unraveled: Minister denies sacking journalist over press freedom question

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 11 July 2023

Minister for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb stated that journalist Azam Chaudhry was never employed by PTV and denied claims of his dismissal. She emphasized the government's commitment to media freedom and criticized the previous administration for its handling of press issues.

Summary

ISLAMABAD—Minister for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb has denied sacking journalist Azam Chaudhry (pictured) from Pakistan Television Corporation, saying he was never an employee in the first place.

Chaudhry, also the president of Lahore Press Club, posed a harsh and direct question to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif regarding diminishing free expression. According to a report in The Express Tribune, this angered the government, and Chaudhry was told: "he was no longer with PTV."

The story has been widely shared on social media, accompanied by a related video clip.

In a tweet, the minister said Chaudhry "has only been a member of an issues-based analyst pool for PTV. He has not been removed from this pool and has not been asked to leave. Nothing of the sort has been communicated to him."

She said this journalist's "views and opinions were known to the government when he was invited to the press conference. If the government wanted to suppress his voice or questions, he would not have been invited and given the opportunity to ask his questions".

The minister turned her guns on the PTI government and the former Prime Minister Imran Khan for being "fascist" and maintained that "PM Shehbaz Sharif and the present government firmly believe in media freedom."

She said this story was published without taking the government's point of view. She said this is unprofessional and falls short of journalistic ethics and standards.