The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) issued notice to two private TV channels ‘Abb Takk’ and ‘Bol News’ for airing fake news of an exchange of bitter words between Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Azam Khan.
The notice issued by PEMRA said, “Abb Takk TV channel has aired false news about the exchange of bitter words between the Foreign Minister and the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister on August 18, 2020, at 5:47 pm.”
According to the notice, the TV channel said that “there was an alleged bitter exchange between Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Azam Khan, the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister.”
According to PEMRA, “the news was broadcast without any confirmation or review from the concerned government offices and was fake news, as evidenced by the denial issued by the government spokesperson.”
According to the reports, media outlets also reported that Qureshi wanted to meet the PM.
Outside the PM’s office, Azam Khan stopped Qureshi from entering the premises, after which Qureshi reportedly slapped him.
Additionally, Azam Khan had stopped the foreign minister from entering as the PM was attending a meeting, after which the foreign minister got visibly angry.
Media reports also indicated that the incident took place in Prime Minister’s Secretariat. Qureshi also allegedly raised strong complaints with Imran Khan for being denied entry.
It was also reported that Qureshi was called by Prime Minister Imran Khan yesterday to mark two years of his term’s completion. Khan had then stopped Qureshi claiming he had no information from the PM to let him in, and this is what escalated into a slap in the face.
