ISLAMABAD – Former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan, who remains in jail since August last year, penned a strongly worded opinion in a British daily in which he comes down hard on the establishment, agencies and civil bureaucracy and now the Pakistani government responded to the development.
The country’s interim information minister Murtaza Solangi took to social media where he questioned the newspaper.
A post shared by him on social media said “Today, we are writing to the Editor of The Economist about an article purportedly written by Imran Khan. It is puzzling and disconcerting that such an esteemed media outlet published an article in the name of an individual who is in jail and has been convicted”.
Today, we are writing to the Editor of @TheEconomist about an article purportedly written by Mr. Imran Khan. It is puzzling and disconcerting that such an esteemed media outlet published an article in the name of an individual who is in jail and has been convicted.
We believe… pic.twitter.com/iU5UlbGMMv
— Murtaza Solangi (@murtazasolangi) January 5, 2024
He then called on esteemed publication to uphold ethical standards and to promote responsible journalism. Minister said he would like to know how the editorial decision was made, and what considerations were taken into account regarding the legitimacy and credibility of the content by The Economist.
Sharing two cents on the piece, he said it would be interested if The Economist has ever published such ghost articles by jailed politicians from any other part of the world. “If jailed convicts were free to write to the media, they would always use the opportunity to air their one-sided grievances,” Solangi mentioned.
In his article, PTI founder said his party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has been targeted since farcical vote of no confidence in April 2022. He then blamed state institutions for not preparing to provide any playing field at all, let alone a level one, for his party.
In major development in country’s history, Pakistan’s Senate passed resolution calling for a delay in general elections scheduled for February 8 as law and order situation in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is not suitable for holding polls.
The upper house of parliament said elections should be delayed until security situation improves.
