ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf MNA Aliya Hamza Malik on Wednesday filed two petitions, one with the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) and the other with the FIA’s cybercrime wing against Maryam Nawaz, claiming that the PML-N vice president was not only involved in blackmailing the media, but also patronising unethical and obscene trends on social media.

Aliya Malik’s apparent move was a reaction to Maryam Nawaz’s mocking of the first lady on social media, but the complaint filed with the FIA stated that the PML-N leader was involved in promoting unethical and obscene trends on social media that needed to be investigated by the FIA’s cybercrime wing.

She said that by advocating for Sabir Hashmi, the PML-N leader had exposed her nefarious designs that she was actually patronising such elements who had initiated trends ridiculing the first lady.

Sabir Hashmi was recently arrested by the FIA’s cybercrime wing for initiating trends against the first lady and charged with initiating other unethical trends, too.

In the application, the PTI MNA said that First Lady Bushra Bibi had nothing to do with politics, and these trends had been launched for her character assassination.

Ms Malik also filed a petition with Pemra about media propaganda against the first lady, saying the PML-N vice president was involved in dirty politics and running disrespectful Twitter trends.

The PTI MNA said that she would expose the politics of Maryam Nawaz, adding that moral values had been violated in the NewsOne’s TV programme. She said that Pemra had issued notices to the TV channel over the programme.

“Gutter journalism is being carried out in Pakistan under the guise of journalism,” she told journalists outside the Pemra headquarters.

Ms Malik also claimed that Maryam Nawaz was involved in giving benefits to certain news channels and curtailing revenues of others through control over advertisements.

“This policy of buying media and pressurising other media outlets was actually an attack on freedom of media,” she said, adding that the PML-N leader had been using media for her vested interests.

She said Maryam Nawaz was behind every nasty act, including blackmailing of judges that had been proved from her audio and video leaks.

The PTI leader said the PML-N had a history of attacks on the judiciary and other state institutions.

Published in Dawn, February 17th, 2022