Imran stresses importance of freedom of speech

ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan Sunday alleged that the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s coalition government and the state machinery were launching “an unprecedented crackdown campaign” against the media houses and journalists, carrying his party’s narrative to the public.

“If we allow these terror tactics, designed simply to target the PTI and myself, to succeed, then we will be returning to the dark days of dictatorship when there was no independent media and no room for freedom of expression,” he said in a series of tweets on Aug 14, the Independence Day.

Imran Khan said that two journalists had to leave Pakistan fearing for their lives, adding that other journalists also suffered threats, violent attacks and arrests. “Haqeeqi Azadi cannot be achieved without a free media & freedom of speech as guaranteed in our Constitution,” said the PTI chief.