PML-N Senior Vice President and chief organizer Maryam Nawaz has defended herself after an unedited clip of her interview with anchorperson Mansoor Ali Khan went viral on social media.
To clarify, Maryam Nawaz gave an interview to anchorperson Mansoor Ali Khan in March. The interview, which was released in two parts, covered a range of topics, including Sharif family rivalries, economic challenges, and arch-rival Imran Khan.
Read more: Mansoor Ali Khan busts doctored images of his family at Aurat March
However, an unedited leaked clip of the interview has surfaced on social media which shows Maryam Nawaz asking Mansoor Ali Khan to cut out a question from the final version of the interview. The question was regarding a car purchased by her father Nawaz Sharif from Toshakhana, to which Maryam Nawaz responded by saying that she was not aware of the law.
Unedited clip of Maryam Nawaz's interview with Mansoor Ali Khan, where she's nervously requesting to cut the clip because she doesn't have the ability and courage to answer tough questions. 😂😂pic.twitter.com/dcmghkH2rs
— Saith Abdullah (@SaithAbdullah99) April 10, 2023
The leaked video clip raised a storm on social media as the critics of Maryam Nawaz accused her of avoiding tough questions and also criticized her for not being forthcoming in the interview.
Taking to Twitter, PML-N’s official Twitter account defended Maryam Nawaz in response to PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry questioning how the clip was excluded from the original interview, saying that she did not have the information at the moment. The same was claimed by Maryam Nawaz who, while accusing PTI of lying, said that she did not want to say anything that was factually incorrect.
“Probably they are used to lying and expect others to do that too. I did not have the required information and did not want to say anything that was factually not correct,” Maryam Nawaz said.
Probably they are used to lying & expect others to do that too. I did not have the required info and did not want to say anything that was factually not correct. https://t.co/MSxtsdrf83
— Maryam Nawaz Sharif (@MaryamNSharif) April 10, 2023
Interestingly, anchorperson Mansoor Ali Khan also became the target of much criticism for leaving out the clip from the original interview. He had previously won praise for his interview as he had asked tough questions from Maryam Nawaz.
Read more: Ex-CJP Saqib Nisar slams Maryam Nawaz for her attacks against judiciary
Reacting to the recent social media backlash, Mansoor Ali Khan then released another video where he explained his side of the story while talking about media ethics and the responsibility of journalists.
Mansoor Ali Khan is 100 percent right that journalism comes with responsibility & media ethics… unlike trolls brigade who bash & smash to earn applause of the masters. A journalist’s laurel is the news content fetched out of an interview, not intimidation. Bravo @_Mansoor_Ali pic.twitter.com/xWtK4VtDXi
— Mudassar Saeed (@mudsays) April 10, 2023
Mansoor Ali Khan clarified that the leak was theft and a breach of data. He also explained that, ethically, no one can be forced to give an interview as consent is important. Since Maryam Nawaz had requested to not record that specific part of the interview, ethically and as a journalist, he could not air that clip.
“As a journalist, I have to follow the code of ethics,” Mansoor Ali Khan said.
Furthermore, in response to the accusations made by PTI leaders that the interview was “fixed”, Mansoor Ali Khan clarified that if it was fixed, then he would have also taken out the part where Maryam Nawaz hesitated to answer a question about former army chief Gen (retired) Bajwa.