24NewsHD being punished for standing by truth: Khursheed Shah
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As the 24NewsHD TV channel is off the air for the 57th consecutive day, PPP senior leader Khursheed Shah on Saturday said the sin committed by the TV channel was to air the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) rally.
Describing the suspension of 24NewsHD transmission as a great injustice, Khursheed said those raising their voice were being punished in the country.
“Freedom of expression is under threat in the country. Any media house speaking for the truth would be punished,” he told reporters after appearing before an accountability court in Sukkur, which adjourned further hearing till October 27.
“Why the rulers are in politics if they are so frightened,” Khursheed questioned and added that never before in the country’s history, the opposition had been pushed to the wall.
The veteran politician also commented on the Karachi episode and said it was for the first time that a provincial police chief had been picked up while describing the protest by the officers as their right.
“Quaid-i-Azam is the father of the nation. Action shouldn’t have been in such a hyped manner if someone had pleaded his case there,” he remarked.
Khursheed said that the page bringing the government and the opposition to the same page had been torn apart, adding that any kind of contact between the two sides was not possible.
“The ruler’s job is to hold dialogue. The ruler here stands for vengeance,” he said and added that he, being a political, would never support martial law.
About the government performance, he said inflation had reached a level where the poor were deprived of two meals a day.
The PPP leader is in Central Jail Sukkur after the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) arrested in Rawalpindi on September 19 last year. His detention is related to an assets beyond means case.
But despite being imprisoned for over a year, he hasn’t yet even been indicted in the reference, drawing strong criticism from the opposition which says Khursheed is facing political victimisation with the charges levelled against being baseless.