Punjab govt receives flak on Twitter for calling anchorperson’s question ‘planted’

The official Twitter account of the Punjab government called the questions of an anchorperson ‘planted’ while sharing a clip of an interview in which Punjab Information Minister Fayyazul Hassan Chohan was invited.

According to details, anchorperson Gharidah Farooqi interviewed Chohan and asked some bitter questions about the cost of PM Imran Khan’s usage of the helicopter.

وزیراعظم عمران خان کے ہیلی کاپٹر کا فی کلومیٹر کل کتنا خرچہ آتا ہے؟ @GFarooqi کے سوال پر سنئیے @Fayazchohanpti کا جواب #GFG#GNN pic.twitter.com/AulQ7lx1Z1

— GNN (@gnnhdofficial) August 30, 2018

A clip of the interview was shared by the official Twitter account of Punjab government with the caption, “Watch how Information Minister Fayyazul Hassan Chohan exposed anchorperson Gharidah Farooqi’s planted questions and made her speechless.”

Later, Farooqi herself took to social media and criticised the ‘biased’ tweet, calling out the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for maligning her credibility.

“Punjab Govt official account run by DGPR Digital Media Wing has deleted the tweet against me to malign my credibility, after I questioned and countered them! Official apology still awaited!” she tweeted.

Punjab Govt Official Account run by DGPR Dig Media Wing has deleted the tweet against me to malign my credibility, after I questioned & countered them! Official apology still awaited! #JournalismIsNotACrime #FreedomOfExpression #Responsibility pic.twitter.com/cMfvVM7Kco

— Gharidah Farooqi (@GFarooqi) August 31, 2018

A number of journalists supported Farooqi in the spat and demanded the Punjab government delete the ‘biased tweet’. After criticism on social media, the Punjab government apologised for its tweet. The video clip was also deleted.

The Punjab government Twitter account, run by the PTI government, said, “We apologise for the poor choice of words while sharing the clip from @GFarooqi’s show. We have deleted the tweet and will be careful in future.”