Punjab government to take legal action against Dawn news for a fake report defaming Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar.
A piece of news published in Dawn passed contemptuous remarks against CM Punjab Usman Buzdar, claiming that a few days ago he was given a detailed briefing on coronavirus from relevant experts and officials.
for their irresponsible and unprofessional behavior and we also urge #APNS and regulatory bodies to take strict action, as we cannot allow anyone to create panic and push their ulterior agendas in these testing times. 2/2
— Government of Punjab (@GovtofPunjabPK) March 19, 2020
The purpose of the meeting was to provide complete information to CM Buzdar on the pandemic coronavirus to assist him in making the right decisions.
The report claimed that at the end of the briefing, Usman Buzdar asked ‘how does coronavirus bite? Ye kata kaisay hai?’.
Be afraid, be very afraid. #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/s1qRRq86lA
— Ali (@hxshbrownie) March 19, 2020
But according to the Punjab government, the article misreported the facts. The Punjab government blasted the leading newspaper of Pakistan-Dawn for publishing ‘absolute rubbish, baseless & fake’ information in the article.
Read more: Why have doctors refused to perform their duties in Sukkur?
Punjab government alerted that it is preparing to start a legal case against the writer and publisher of the news piece. Moreover, it admonished the publisher for compromising ethics to pursue ulterior agendas in the testing time for the nation.
In a tweet, the Punjab Government called the baseless slurs against Usman Buzdar as tantamount to aggravating panic and uncertainty among people, as coronavirus cases continue to soar in Pakistan.
Chief Minister Usman Buzdar also endorsed the official statement of the Punjab government on his Twitter account.
Before the denial and condemnation from Punjab government, a screenshot of the selected lines from the article went viral on social media.
After he was given a complete briefing on #Covid19, CM Punjab Usman Buzdar asked: “Yeh corona kaat-ta kaisay hai? (how does this corona bite)?” 😯https://t.co/6r5ioP0GqY
— Nadeem Farooq Paracha (@NadeemfParacha) March 19, 2020
Social media went in frenzy and tweets of slamming CM Punjab poured in on Twitter.
Hence to mitigate the whirlwind of criticism, the Punjab Government issued an official statement to address the controversy.
A few days ago Punjab CM Usman Buzdar received a detailed briefing on coronavirus from relevant experts and officials. At the end of the briefing, the CM asked those briefing him: “Yeh corona kaat-ta kaisay hai? (how does this corona bite)?”
— omar r quraishi (@omar_quraishi) March 19, 2020
Meanwhile, CM Usman Buzdar announced the setup of the quarantine facility to accommodate 3000 suspected patients of coronavirus in Multan that can be extended to 6000 patients.