PESHAWAR: A video recording of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has emerged, showing him issuing a strict ultimatum to provincial bureaucrats to target media organizations broadcasting corruption reports.
In the video, Chief Minister Afridi directs provincial secretaries to immediately issue legal notices to any digital or national media platforms that have run stories on corruption within the province.
The Chief Minister explicitly provides a three-day deadline to initiate these legal proceedings against all such channels.
He further warns the officials that failure to take action within the stipulated three days will result in their immediate dismissal from service, stating that administrative action will be taken against the bureaucrats themselves if they fail to comply.
\ Journalist associations, media watchdogs, and civil society circles have strongly condemned the video directive issued by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi.
Critics are labeling the three-day ultimatum as a direct attack on freedom of expression and an attempt to suppress independent journalism in the province.
Media bodies have voiced serious concerns over the move, stating that forcing government officials to initiate swift legal actions against media organizations reporting on corruption is a tactic to silence critical reporting and undermine transparency.
