PID ‘declares’ China an Islamic Republic

Published April 19, 2014
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang steps down from his plane upon arrival at Pakistan's Nur Khan air base in Rawalpindi on May 22, 2013. — Photo by AFP/File
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang steps down from his plane upon arrival at Pakistan's Nur Khan air base in Rawalpindi on May 22, 2013. — Photo by AFP/File

ISLAMABAD: While issuing a routine media statement, the Press and Information Department (PID) may have inadvertently declared China an Islamic Republic.

Buried within the 1,500 words of Press Release No. 151 is the paragraph, “The Cabinet gave Approval for Signing of Protocol for the Period from Nov 2004 to Nov 2012 and Approval for Revision of Protocol between the Government of Islamic Republic of China for Scientific and Technical Cooperation in Surveying and Mapping.”

The faux pas is not exactly a rare occurrence. A series of similar blunders has plagued the Prime Minister’s (PM) media office over the past week, suggesting that the federal government’s mouthpiece has trouble getting its facts straight.

On April 14, a statement on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s meeting with visiting South Korean premier said that PM Chung Hongwon was accompanied by “Mr Han Jinhyun, Vice Minister for Trade and Energy from the Chinese side”. Only three days later a statement

regarding a Cabinet Committee on National Security (CCNS) meeting renamed it the National Security Committee. CCNS was created last August, and a National Security Committee has yet to be constituted.

However, as the official source on all things ‘government’, it may be premature to call this a mistake. Perhaps the note in Press Release No. 151 is intentional, and the PID knows something no one else does.

Opinion

Editorial

Rigging claims
Updated 04 May, 2024

Rigging claims

The PTI’s allegations are not new; most elections in Pakistan have been controversial, and it is almost a given that results will be challenged by the losing side.
Gaza’s wasteland
04 May, 2024

Gaza’s wasteland

SINCE the start of hostilities on Oct 7, Israel has put in ceaseless efforts to depopulate Gaza, and make the Strip...
Housing scams
04 May, 2024

Housing scams

THE story of illegal housing schemes in Punjab is the story of greed, corruption and plunder. Major players in these...
Under siege
Updated 03 May, 2024

Under siege

Whether through direct censorship, withholding advertising, harassment or violence, the press in Pakistan navigates a hazardous terrain.
Meddlesome ways
03 May, 2024

Meddlesome ways

AFTER this week’s proceedings in the so-called ‘meddling case’, it appears that the majority of judges...
Mass transit mess
03 May, 2024

Mass transit mess

THAT Karachi — one of the world’s largest megacities — does not have a mass transit system worth the name is ...