Don’t muzzle free speech, Sheikh Waqas tells govt

PESHAWAR: Condemning government’s attempt to stop opposition parties from organising a conference in Islamabad, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) secretary information Sheikh Waqas Akram on Thursday said the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) was enacted to stifle the voice of the press.

Speaking at a press conference at the Peshawar Press Club, Sheikh Waqas Akram criticised the government for preventing a conference organised by theTehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP, which included a session on media freedom.

“The Constitution grants citizens the right to protest and express their opinions freely,” he added.He claimed that when political leaders such as Omar Ayub, Mahmood Khan Achakzai, and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi arrived at the venue, the hotel’s entrance was locked to prevent their participation. However, some attendees managed to jump over the gate and unlock it, allowing the event to proceed.

He said that Pakistan cannot move forward without upholding the supremacy of the Constitution. “We strongly condemn the government’s actions to disrupt the conference. Various political parties had reached an understanding, but the authorities attempted to dismantle this unity through fascist tactics,” he remarked.

Sheikh Waqas Akram also criticised the Punjab government, stating that instead of governance, public funds were wasted on advertisements. “If putting up pictures made leaders, then even those appearing in soap commercials would be considered leaders,” he said. He pointed out that billions of rupees were being spent on events such as the Horse and Cattle Show, while PTI’s initiatives like mobile hospitals were being presented as the current government’s achievements.

He condemned the government’s practice of placing its leaders’ pictures on flour bags, asserting that such tactics would not earn them public support. Sheikh Waqas also announced that PTI’s leaders have decided to take the matter to court against the government’s actions. He demanded the immediate release of PTI workers who are still imprisoned, calling their detention an act of injustice. He urged the authorities to free young political activists from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, who were allegedly being harassed under special remand procedures.He labeled the ruling Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government as “vote thieves,” accusing them of coming to power through electoral fraud.