BBC ignores fact and promoting lies
Journalism or propaganda
The BBC really needs to stop becoming a tool for the Opposition parties in Pakistan and should, at the very least get its facts correct when reporting allegations about election 2018 being “rigged” . While the BBC’s gossipy style in this story may titillate some members of the Opposition and those forces hostile to Pakistan, it seriously calls into question BBC’s credibility. Here are some facts given below. First you refer to “independent sources” but fail to identify any, unless you want us to now believe Dr. Siddiqa, a long time critic of PTI, is an “independent” analyst. For your information, FAFEN is a reputable independent NGO that focuses on elections and here is what it had to say about the 2013 and 2018 elections.
FAFEN Report“The 11th general election in the country was held without any major controversy barring the complaints about the slow counting and delayed transmission of results, the Free and Fare Election Network (FAFEN) says in its report.
The report maintains that the electoral activity proceeded in accordance with the Elections Act of 2017, and it was relatively better managed than that in 2013″
Perhaps, BBC also needs to examine the table below of a comparison between the 2013 and 2018 elections:
FAFEN election
Again, the petitions challenging the elections in NA in 2013 were 133. In 2018 they were only 102. But most importantly, in 2018 the total petitions by PMLN and PPP were 24 while PTI alone had 23 petitions in the Election Commission of Pakistan where they felt the elections weren’t fair.
As for the comments on the military and it’s dominance as well as its role in the elections, the issue really is of the frustration being felt by Pakistan’s detractors because the PTI govt and the Pak military are on the same page as they are in democracies.
The military supports the democratic govt and it’s policies as required by the Constitution. There is no civil-military rift. As for the 2018 elections, PTI came to power on the support and votes of the people of Pakistan. It’s really as simple as that and it is time for the BBC and other foreign media outlets to realize this, notwithstanding the baseless propaganda being churned out – unless the BBC seeks to become a tool of the propagandists.
Finally, the BBC should check the credentials of the journalist who wrote the story – he had been retweeting PDM rally ads through posters on social media. He happens to have old links to Zardari/Bilawal House in Karachi. It is shocking to find the BBC becoming an unwitting partner in a campaign against PTI and Pakistan by its detractors. It does little harm to the Pakistan government but it certainly destroys BBC’s credibility.
Senator Shibli Faraz
Federal Minister for Information & Broadcasting
Government of Pakistan
Journalism or propaganda
The BBC really needs to stop becoming a tool for the Opposition parties in Pakistan and should, at the very least get its facts correct when reporting allegations about election 2018 being “rigged” . While the BBC’s gossipy style in this story may titillate some members of the Opposition and those forces hostile to Pakistan, it seriously calls into question BBC’s credibility. Here are some facts given below. First you refer to “independent sources” but fail to identify any, unless you want us to now believe Dr. Siddiqa, a long time critic of PTI, is an “independent” analyst. For your information, FAFEN is a reputable independent NGO that focuses on elections and here is what it had to say about the 2013 and 2018 elections.
FAFEN Report
The report maintains that the electoral activity proceeded in accordance with the Elections Act of 2017, and it was relatively better managed than that in 2013″
Perhaps, BBC also needs to examine the table below of a comparison between the 2013 and 2018 elections:
FAFEN election
Again, the petitions challenging the elections in NA in 2013 were 133. In 2018 they were only 102. But most importantly, in 2018 the total petitions by PMLN and PPP were 24 while PTI alone had 23 petitions in the Election Commission of Pakistan where they felt the elections weren’t fair.
As for the comments on the military and it’s dominance as well as its role in the elections, the issue really is of the frustration being felt by Pakistan’s detractors because the PTI govt and the Pak military are on the same page as they are in democracies.
The military supports the democratic govt and it’s policies as required by the Constitution. There is no civil-military rift. As for the 2018 elections, PTI came to power on the support and votes of the people of Pakistan. It’s really as simple as that and it is time for the BBC and other foreign media outlets to realize this, notwithstanding the baseless propaganda being churned out – unless the BBC seeks to become a tool of the propagandists.
Finally, the BBC should check the credentials of the journalist who wrote the story – he had been retweeting PDM rally ads through posters on social media. He happens to have old links to Zardari/Bilawal House in Karachi. It is shocking to find the BBC becoming an unwitting partner in a campaign against PTI and Pakistan by its detractors. It does little harm to the Pakistan government but it certainly destroys BBC’s credibility.
Senator Shibli Faraz
Federal Minister for Information & Broadcasting
Government of Pakistan
Journalism or Propaganda? [TrendsPak Blog]
Journalism or Propaganda? The BBC really needs to stop becoming a tool for the Opposition parties while reporting allegations
trendspak.com