KARACHI: Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) has turned a blind eye towards Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) leader Ishaq Dar’s BBC interview but stopped airing of Dar’s stance over it.
This was revealed by Dunya TV anchor Javed Chaudhry in his programme. He apprised his viewers that all the TV channels ran the former finance minister’s interview taken by Stephen Sackur in programme Hard Talk. The progrmme was not only run in English but in Urdu dubbing as well.
However, Javed Chaudhry said he took views of Ishaq Dar on the BBC interview, however PEMRA somehow knew about it and stopped it from airing beforehand.
“In his interview with Dunya TV, Dar provided details of his properties and claimed that he owned only one property in Pakistan. He also said that if he had more properties to his name then the government was allowed to confiscate them,” said the Pakistani anchor sarcastically lauding PEMRA’s swift action for blocking broadcast of the interview conducted by Pakistani media and having no objection to BBC interview.
Javed Chaudhry said that when he took up the issue with the PEMRA chairman he said that other channels would also be issued notices for broadcasting BBC interview.
PEMRA has banned interviews of all the criminals who have been declared absconders by court of law.