Islamabad:
The opposition head Omar Ayub Khan officially wrote a letter to the President of the National Assembly on Tuesday, expressing concerns about what he described as an increasing censorship of parliamentary speeches and an alleged violation of constitutional and procedural standards.
In the three -page letter, the NA opposition chief recalled that the president of NA Ayaz Sadiq of his constitutional role of guardian – not the master – of the Chamber. The letter underlines the repeated cases where, according to Ayub, the speeches of the members of the opposition were either censored or cut and modified when official images were requested, which raises concerns concerning transparency and equity.
“Since the start of the current assembly in 2024, the members of the opposition have faced an increasing censorship not only by restricted media coverage, but also by publishing and a significant alteration of our recorded speeches,” he wrote. “When I and other members have asked for access to official images of our speeches, we found them considerably cut and manipulated.”
“I must also remind you that by virtue of law and tradition, the speaker is the guardian, not the master of the chamber,” said Ayub, “the guardian of this institution of August cannot arbitrarily suppress or distort the voice of the representatives of the peoples”.
The head of the opposition stressed that the members of the National Assembly constitutionally have the right to freely express their point of view.
