Pak poll body issues notice to Imran Khan over violation of code of conduct

Islamabad [Pakistan], September 8 (ANI): The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday issued a notice to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chief Imran Khan for violating the electoral watchdog’s code of conduct.
According to ARY News, Khan violated the ECP norms by addressing a public rally in Peshawar where by-polls are scheduled in the NA-31 constituency on September 25 as the public office-holders including the president, prime minister, chairman/deputy chairman senate, speaker/deputy speaker of an assembly, federal ministers, ministers of state, governors, chief ministers, provincial ministers cannot participate in the by-polls campaigns.
The ECP, in its notice, highlighted that the former prime minister violated para 42 of the electoral code of conduct.
“You are required to submit your written statement in person or through an authorised agent before the district monitoring officer on Sept 9 to explain as to why your case be not initiated under the law,” the ECP notice read.
Earlier, the election body issued a show-cause notice to the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Abid Sher Ali for the by-polls in NA-108 over the violation of ECP’s electoral code of conduct, according to ARY News.
Notably, YouTube service was disrupted in parts of Pakistan on Tuesday evening following an address by Imran Khan at a party power show in Peshawar on Tuesday. The disruption came as former PM Imran Khan made a live broadcast to the public, despite a ban issued by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA).
Imran Khan, who is embroiled in the political slugfest with the coalition government said Shehbaz Sharif’s government has taken media censorship to fascistic levels.
“Imported govt has taken media and journalists’ censorship and persecution to fascistic levels. Now Bol has been suspended simply because it gave us coverage. Message to all media houses is to blackout the largest & most popular national pol party from mainstream media. Unacceptable,” Khan tweeted.
Pakistan is one of the world’s deadliest countries for journalists, according to Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
Under the guise of protecting journalism, Pakistani law is used to censor any criticism of the government and the armed forces. The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), created in 2002, is concerned less with regulating the media sector than with regulating the content it publishes, according to RSF.
As a result of these ambiguously worded laws, journalists who cross the implicit lines dictated by the authorities are exposed to heavy administrative and criminal penalties – up to three years in prison for “sedition”, for example. (ANI)