During a hearing on Monday on the on the harassment of journalists, the allegations levelled by former Rawalpindi commissioner Liaquat Ali Chattha also echoed in the courtroom.
Chattha had, on Feb 17, accused both the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and the CJP of colluding to manipulate the Feb 8 general elections.
During Monday’s proceedings, the CJP regretted that the ex-commissioner, who later retracted his words, had levelled accusations against his person, which were run by all television channels without any verification.
It is a common practice globally that a piece of news is first verified before being aired, the CJP said, adding that no journalist had asked the accuser what proof he had towards his claim.
“When the credibility of the institutions are tarnished, we all get affected,” the CJP deplored, adding that Article 19, which guarantees freedom of expression, did not give a license to level baseless allegations.
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