Pak ex-minister Malik falls for April Fool prank
Pakistan’s former interior minister Rehman Malik fell for a April Fool’s Day prank when he reacted to a fake news story about naming of Islamabad’s new airport after Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The Express Tribune on Saturday ran a story as an April Fool’s Day prank on its website that the government had decided to name a new airport in the capital after the Chinese leader.
Hours later the prank elicited a serious reaction from Mr Malik who expressed “serious reservations” over it as the airport was named after Benazir Bhutto, the slain leader of Pakistan People’s Party.
He warned the government that his party would take the issue to an “extreme level” if it tried to the rename the airport.
“The government should avoid taking any steps which may hurt the feelings of the public,” Mr Malik said in a statement issued to the media.
“There is no precedent in the past to rename organisations (or facilities) which are named after national heroes,” he said.
He also asked the government for a clarification.
Mr Malik served as the interior minister from 25 March 2008 until 16 March 2013. From 2004 to 2007, he served as the chief of security of Benazir Bhutto and became senior official of the central committee of the PPP.