Former Prime Minister Imran Khan has slammed the current government of Pakistan for allegedly launching a massive crackdown on media persons and publications that support his party Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf's (PTI) narrative against the Shehbaz Sharif-led coalition.
"I want to warn our nation of an unprecedented crackdown campaign by the imported government and state machinery against media houses and journalists who are carrying PTI and my narrative to the public," Imran Khan tweeted. "Two journalists, Arshad Sharif and Sabir Shakir have had to leave Pakistan fearing for their lives."
The PTI chief claimed several other journalists had been attacked violently, and that some had been issued threats, while a few faced arrests.
"In my mass public campaign across Pakistan from next week, I will take up the issue of media freedom and freedom of expression. If we allow these terror tactics, designed simply to target PTI and myself, to succeed, then we will be returning to the dark days of dictatorship when there was no independent media and no room for freedom of expression," Khan said.
Khan further noted that the South Asian nation could not achieve real freedom unless the media was free from all kinds of subjugation by the political hierarchy.
Earlier this week, the country's biggest private broadcaster ARY News was taken off-air by the current government after authorities alleged the television channel was broadcasting "hateful, seditious and malicious content."
ARY News has been critical of the Sharif government and has openly supported Imran Khan on a range of issues, including the demand for early polls.