PTV broadcasts PM’s speech live from ‘Begging’

The broadcaster later apologised via Twitter, calling the incident ‘regrettable’

Pakistan’s state-run news channel PTV ran ‘Begging’ dateline instead of ‘Beijing’ on screen during the live broadcast of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s speech in China and became a target of trolling by netizens.

Khan, who is on an official trip to China to secure financial support from Beijing for his cash-strapped country, was on Sunday addressing a ceremony at the Central Party School (of the Communist Party of China) in Beijing which was shown live by the Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV).

During the telecast of Khan’s address on PTV, his location was misspelled from ‘Beijing’ to ‘Begging’ in the top left corner of the screen. The typo reportedly remained on-screen for a good 20 seconds or so before it was rectified.

‘Disgraceful act’

The incident provoked all kinds of reactions from people on Twitter, from some calling the act “disgraceful” to others lauding PTV for becoming “drastically independent”.

The video left many wondering whether it was intentional.

The broadcaster later apologised via Twitter, calling the incident “regrettable”. It called the issue as a “typographical error”.

Action initiated

“Strict action has been initiated under rules against concerned officials,” it said.

According to the News International daily, Pakistan’s Information and Broadcasting Minister Fawad Chaudhry ordered a probe into the gaffe by the PTV.