Another excellent media watch post from “Let Us Build Pakistan” blog, this time taking to task right-wing journalist Anjum Niaz famous for her remarks about “Jew York Times.” It seems in her latest reporting on the VIP protocol granted to Raza Rabbini. Anjum was outraged about this VIP treatment in her article, as is the fashion currently. Unfortunately, there was one problem. It appears that she made the whole thing up.

Now, referring back to Anjum Niaz’s article about the VIP vice in Pakistan in which she narrates a ‘first-hand’ account of Raza Rabbani’s VIP reception at a Pakistani airport, it turned out that the whole story was a piece of irresponsible journalism written with the sole aim of tarnishing the image of the PPP’s leadership. In fact Raza Rabbani was no where to be seen on the flight that Anjum Niaz is fantasizing about. Actually, Rabbani did not travel on that day at all.

The LUBP has learnt that Raza Rabbani has strongly protested with the Editors of The News on this fraudulent story by Anjum Niaz.

Anjum’s column published yesterday admits her mistake, taking care (of course) to do so only in passing as she essentially publishes the same article about Senate Chairman Farooq Naek, who, she claims, was actually the person receiving the VIP protocol. Anjum, of course, believes that the Senate Chairman is not worthy of VIP status. I don’t intend to argue this point, but will leave that to Abdul Nishapuri to do on his own.

For the purposes of this blog, it is important to point out that, once again, a ‘prominent’ journalist has not only written, but a major newspaper has published a scathing attack on someone without even checking their facts. It is common practice for the editor of a news publication or TV show to require evidence before a factual claim is to be made. Did this happen here at all?

How hard would it have been for the editor of The News to call and verify that Raza Rabbani was actually on the flight? It also raises the question of whether or not Anjum Niaz was even there herself, or if she is embellishing the claim based on rumours that have been passed onto her by someone else.

Either way, there is no excuse for this poor journalism. The facts in this case would have been simply to verify. One phone call is all it took. Instead, The News allowed Anjum Niaz to make up a story and then they printed her false accusations making no attempts to verify the facts. Congratulations to Let Us Build Pakistan blog on another investigative job well done.