Pakistan's media watchdog, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), has banned TV channels from broadcasting live addresses by former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The decision, effective immediately, was made on the eve of his rally in Rawalpindi on Sunday. According to the regulator, Khan is making "baseless allegations and spreading hate speech."
"His provocative statements against state institutions and officers... is likely to disturb public peace and tranquility," the PEMRA added.
The decision has been slammed by members of Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party and his supporters.
Asad Umar, a senior PTI official, took to Twitter, saying that the ban would be challenged in court:
Shireen Mazari, a PTI member and ex-minister of human rights, lambasted PEMRA's decision too:
A local journalist said the watchdog's decision actually had the opposite effect.
Since his ouster from power in April 2021, Khan has held massive rallies across the country, branding the government of his successor Shehbaz Sharif as "traitors" installed by a "foreign conspiracy" hatched in the US. He has also repeatedly said that Washington has made Pakistan a "slave" without invading it. Prior to the no-confidence motion that saw him voted out of power, Khan accused the US of seeking to have him removed.