Punjab Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb has strongly criticised what she described as a malicious campaign targeting the character of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on media and social media platforms.
In her statement on Tuesday, Marriyum alleged that elements involved in character assassination of the Punjab chief minister have infiltrated the ranks of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and are operating with foreign funding.
She urged the national media to expel what she termed as intruders running such campaigns, saying that a “vile and poisonous mentality” was being spread through media and social media platforms.
Marriyum claimed that the roots of this mindset were sown during the tenure of the jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, adding that people associated with the PTI were using media platforms under a negative agenda.
She called upon national media outlets to condemn what she described as a character assassination campaign against Maryam Nawaz, stating that silence on the issue would tarnish the reputation of the media itself.
She said that whenever legal action is proposed against those involved in such campaigns, there is an outcry about restrictions on freedom of expression.