PTI chief Imran Khan has tasted censorship for the first time ever, and PEMRA’s ban on showing live addresses by him, is the first time such a restriction has been placed on him. It may be a preliminary to something he hasn’t experienced before, during his days in opposition, arrest. The reason this is new to him that the practice of opposition figures being taken off air was unknown in his opposition days, allowing him to harangue the nation nightly during the 2016 dharna. This particular innovation was introduced during his period in office, when attempts to defy the ban led to leading opposition figures being taken off the air as soon as their interview went on.
It is possible to see the ban as a sort of preliminary, as the second phase of an operation that was started by the arrest of his chief of staff, Dr Shahbaz Gill, on sedition charges. The same forces that did not like Dr Gill’s message of incitement to the military, are also wary of Mr Khan, whose recent speeches seem to indicate that he is likely to go further than before in his attacks on all those who drove him out of office. However, there is already the danger of jumping out of the frying-pan to land in the fire. Those forces which are so bothered by Mr Khan free should think about what might happen if Mr Khan was arrested.
The attempt at censorship is hopelessly old-fashioned. It assumes that media access is limited, that this is a pre-social media era. Mr Khan should get the opportunity he worked assiduously to prevent, to participate in the free marketplace of ideas. Imposers of censorship should remember that no one airs a speech that will not get viewers. If Mr Khan keeps on being telecast, it is something that viewers want to hear. This will only be counterproductive; as he finds other media to transmit his message, which will be surrounded by an aura of martyrdom to the person at the other end.
