£190 million recovery: TV channel mutes ex-governor upon mentioning Malik Riaz’s name

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and former Sindh governor Muhammad Zubair was muted on-air by a private media outlet when he took property tycoon Malik Riaz’s name in relation with the £190 million settlement of United Kingdom’s (UK) National Crime Agency.

Discussing the issue, Zubair highlighted how the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government was hesitating when it came to naming the Bahria Town founder publicly. He then went on to take Malik Riaz’s name twice, but it was censored by the TV channel both times.

WATCH VIDEO:

A news channel shamelessly mutes Malik Riaz's name whenever the guest on the talk show, Muhammad Zubair, mentions it… pic.twitter.com/7Q2MjRdqIF

— Bilal Farooqi (@bilalfqi) December 5, 2019

Media has largely been ignoring the news of Riaz’s settlement with the National Crime Agency, with majority of the English daily newspapers refraining from posting the news on their front page. While some are avoiding mentioning Riaz’s name, others are not reporting the settlement at all.

Government officials, including the premier’s aide on information and broadcasting, have also been spotted avoiding mentioning the name of the Bahria Town founder.

A reporter asked Firdous Awan yesterday to name the man who has to cough up £190m. Her reply:

His name is Malik Riaz btw. pic.twitter.com/zllDNc4Sem

— Benazir Shah (@Benazir_Shah) December 5, 2019

Sharing the details of the settlement with the media, Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan on Thursday avoided mentioning Riaz’s name when asked about the family in question. “The report contains the name of the family that made the settlement,” she said.