Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry said on Wednesday that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) vice president Maryam Nawaz has admitted to controlling the advertisements of leading television channels.
Talking to media along with Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar in Islamabad on Wednesday, he said that the PML-N vice president was running the party’s that media cell.
The minister said Maryam’s admission had proved that as to how the PML-N carried out ‘systematic manipulation’ of the media during its last tenure.
“A special media cell of Maryam Nawaz was set up in the Prime Minister s House and today she confessed her media cell, adding that the journalists were systematically bribed while the journalists of opposition groups were punished.
Fawad Ch went on to say that confession of Maryam of curtailing or blocking advertisements for specific television channels was certainly an immoral and illegal act.
He said advertisements for the Federal and Provincial governments were managed by the ‘notorious media cell’ set up by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to reward specific journalists over stories in their favour.
“The handling of public fund by a private person is a crime under the jurisdiction of the FIA (Federal Investigation Agency), but also liable of disqualification,” he said while pointing out that Maryam had already been disqualified under Article 62 and 63 of the Constitution.