Editor sacked for ‘fakeleak’ report

Dec 13, 2010 |

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Islamabad, Dec. 12: A Pakistani news agency at the centre of controversy over a report based on fake US diplomatic cables containing crude anti-India propaganda has sacked an editor for “fabricating a false story.”

Mr Siddique Sajid, an editor at Online news agency, was fired following an inquiry ordered by the organisation’s owner and the editor-in-chief, Mr Mohsin Baig.

“The decision to sack Mr Sajid was made after it was established in the inquiry that he had ‘solely misused’ his editorial authority in the absence of the news agency’s editor-in-chief by ‘fabricating a false story’ on a highly sensitive subject such as the Wikileaks’ disclosure,” said a message posted on Online’s website.

The report, based on fake diplomatic cables from the US embassy in New Delhi purportedly released by Wikileaks, was carried prominently by several English and Urdu dailies.

The Express Tribune, a partner of the International Herald Tribune; and The News published apologies after it was proved that the cables quoted were fake.

Both newspapers had blamed Online for circulating the fake report.

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