DG-ISPR rubbishes claims made by BBC in controversial article

Pakistan Armed Forces Public Relations wing has slammed a controversial article titled “Uncovering Pakistan’s Secret Human Rights Abuses” and indicated to take the matter up with BBC, the publishers of the article in question, ARY News reported on Monday.

DG-ISPR Major General Asif Ghafoor took to the social media website twitter where he shared screen grabs of the libelous article and called it “a pack of lies in violation of journalistic ethos.”

The tweet read: “News story published by BBC on 2nd June 2019, titled “Uncovering Pakistan’s Secret Human Rights Abuses” is pack of lies and in violation of journalistic ethos. The issue is being formally taken up with BBC authorities.”

News story published by BBC on 2nd June 2019, titled “Uncovering Pakistan’s Secret Human Rights Abuses” is pack of lies and in violation of journalistic ethos.
The issue is being formally taken up with BBC authorities. pic.twitter.com/A3QtbXJIkS

— Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor (@OfficialDGISPR) June 3, 2019

Ghafoor in a statement claimed that the British Broadcasting Channel (BBC) had disregarded the state’s narrative over the recent Waziristan incident.

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DG-ISPR rubbished the news item and the claims it staked and said that they have reached out to the publishers against the piece.

Ghafoor revealed that the Inter-Service Public Relations (ISPR) was given a dubious questionnaire before the article was published, ISPR had also offered complete assistance to the publisher so that facts could be determined.

“BBC published the story according to it’s own whims rather than accepting the offer of the foremost military information source of the country,” said Ghafoor.

“The opinions being stated as facts in the story are far from reality,” claimed Ghafoor.

Talking about an alleged air attack on January 22, 2014, Ghafoor said that it was more misreporting on the publisher’s part and that the attack never took place.

Questioning the credibility of the story, Ghafoor said that the publisher had failed to back up it’s claims with factual proofs and evidence.

“People’s life and safety were in extreme danger, mosques, schools, market places nothing was off limit in the area, people’s heads were being severed and being played football with by the extremists, people were held hostage and were at the mercy of militias,” said Ghafoor in closing regarding the landscape before the Army operation.