Fawad should not mislead masses through false propaganda about PM's Saudi visit: Marriyum.

ISLAMABAD -- Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb on Monday stated that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was not going to Saudi Arabia on a chartered plane.

The minister, in a statement in response to a tweet of former information minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders should not mislead the masses through false and baseless propaganda.

She clarified that the prime minister would go to Saudi Arabia on a commercial flight and he would bear the expenses of his visit. For 10 years as Punjab's chief minister, Shehbaz Sharif used to pay his travel expenses out of his own pocket.

Marriyum Aurangzeb said as former information minister, Fawad should not make such a baseless statement against journalists as no media person was going to Saudi Arabia at the government's expenses.

She said fake news was the hallmark of former information minister.

The minister recalled that the media used to give prominent coverage to Imran Khan when he was in the opposition, but after coming to power he targeted and victimised the media houses and media persons.

During the PTI rule, she said, news channels were closed down, airing of certain programmes (by news channels) and publishing of columns were banned, while journalists were arrested...