‘PM Khan not a press freedom predator’, says govt

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has strongly rejected the Paris-based media watchdog’s report, which lists Prime Minister Imran Khan among the world’s 37 worst rulers when it comes to press freedom.

The angry reaction from Khan’s government came in response to a report by Reporters Without Borders titled, “Press freedom predators gallery — old tyrants, two women, and a European,” reports Associated Press (AP).

Pakistan’s Information Ministry in a statement on Tuesday rejected the allegations, saying Khan’s government believed in “freedom of expression and media independence”.

In a statement, the ministry said it was surprising that Reporters Without Borders “has jumped to the conclusion” that media in Pakistan are under draconian censorship measures by Khan’s government. It said the government has been “taking all possible measures to create a congenial environment for journalists to perform their professional obligations”.

“It appears that the report that (Reporters Without Borders) has issued is an attempt to malign the elected representative of the people of Pakistan, without any corroborative evidence,” the ministry said.

The ministry said it hoped that the watchdog in the “future will avoid such irresponsible journalism”.

Reporters Without Borders has published a gallery of grim portraits on its official website. It includes 37 heads of state or government who crack down massively on press freedom. Some of these “predators of press freedom” have been operating for more than two decades while others have just joined the blacklist, which for the first time includes two women and a European predator.