KARACHI Voice of America (VoA) Radio expressed their regret for misquoting Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) Secretary Asif Bajwa in an aired interview filed by reporter Sardar Khan.

The reporter allegedly quoted Bajwa as saying that Pakistan purposely lost a match against Poland in the World Cup qualifier in Lille (France) to avoid facing hosts France in the final, last November.

“As soon as I read your (Bajwa's) objections to the report in the Pakistani media saying the reporter twisted your words, my most senior managers and I demanded the full unedited interview and compared it to the dispatch Sardar Khan submitted to us,” said Jennifer Janin, Chief VOA Urdu Broadcasting to Pakistan in a letter addressed to PHF and made available to APP on Friday evening.

“We concluded that Sardar Khan tampered with your comments to twist the meaning. This is completely unethical and irresponsible and in violation of VoA News' own code of conduct,” Janin said in her letter.

“We owe you more than an apology and are taking the steps to address any blemish Sardar Khan's report may have had on the Pakistan Hockey Federation,” she said.

She said that Sardar, a freelance reporter who had been contributing reports to VoA, had damaged his own and VoA's credibility. According to her, VoA has banned him from working for the radio.

We are issuing a formal apology and retraction of the report which is being posted on our website and will be aired on VoA's radio shows, she added.

“We are writing a formal letter of apology to you (Asif Bajwa) personally and to the Pakistan Hockey Federation,” she concluded.