ISLAMABAD: The ruling PML-N believes in a level-playing field. Lawmakers from the treasury benches at a press conference on Tuesday claimed that the government had no objection if the opposition parliamentary parties wanted to use the Press Information Department (PID) for their pressers.

Chairman Privatisation Commission Mohammad Zubair, who holds the status of a state minister, MNAs Talal Chaudhry and Daniyal Aziz, while talking to mediapersons at the PID, criticised the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) for joining hands with the PPP against PML-N in the upcoming local government elections in Punjab.

The response came when they were asked if hitting out against opposition political parties by using public sector facilities such as the PID by the government ministers didn’t fall under the definition of conflict of interest.

Mr Chaudhry, referring to a meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting, said the government had agreed in principle that public sector institutions such as the PID and PTV were open to all political parties and wouldn’t be restricted to “only our use”.

To substantiate his argument, the MNA from Faisalabad, who nowadays could be heard enthusiastically defending the government on TV talk shows, said: “I can present a number of newspaper clippings and PTV recordings where opposition parties, especially the PTI, have been duly accommodated.”

Later talking to Dawn, Principal Information Officer (PIO) Rao Tehseen Ali Khan, who is also the in charge of arrangements at the PID for routine government press conferences, said: “I will welcome PTI chairman Imran Khan to the PID whenever he decides to address a press conference.”

Published in Dawn, September 9th, 2015

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