Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that the press has defamed him by running fake news against him.
He said that the way “deliberate” campaigns were run to destabilise the government, had it been in any other country, those media outlets would have been shut down.
The prime minister said that during his visit to China, a piece of false news was published saying that I was going to review the CPEC”.
“When I spoke about the promotion of the private sector for employment generation, another erroneous impression was created that the government was not willing to provide jobs,” Khan said.
He said that this distortion is deliberate and not an error.
The prime minister said that the media must realise that if some misfortune happens to the country, everybody would suffer.
“I had advised the former president General (retired) Pervez Musharraf to liberalise the media and launch TV channels, and I was the one who benefited the most,” he pointed out.
The prime minister said he has had a 40-year-old relationship with the media.
“I have seen a free and liberal press, but the vicious manner in which I was attacked, it never happened anywhere in the world,” the prime minister said.
Khan said that he lives in his personal house and pays all his bills, except for the travel and security arrangements that are paid by the government.
The premier said that he did not have a camp office and was accused of pressuring the Capital District Authority (CDA) chairman to regularise Bani Gala.
Khan said that when he complained about this news to the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), a stay order was issued against it.
Meanwhile, sources have said that the prime minister has detailed a federal intelligence agency personnel to keep an eye on the activities of his close aides and federal cabinet members.
According to the sources, Khan has tasked a federal intelligence agency with keeping an eye on the negative activities of his close aides and federal cabinet members, and to keep him informed on any development.
The sources said that the prime minister adopted a harsh attitude towards an adviser during a federal cabinet meeting as he had been receiving reports from the intelligence agency.
The reports have termed some federal cabinet members as “unfaithful” to the prime minister.
The prime minister’s relationship with a close aide – unnamed – is reportedly under strain.
Prime Minister Khan: I have seen a free and liberal press, but the vicious manner in which I was attacked, it never happened anywhere in the world.
