No, the Pakistani government has not appointed a new chairperson to run a federal welfare programme

This article is more than one year old.
Published on October 12, 2018 at 09:00
2 min read
By AFP Pakistan

A notification that has been widely shared on social media across Pakistan claims the government has appointed a female legislator from the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party as the new head of a nationwide welfare programme. The parliamentarian, the government, and a representative from the programme said the notification being circulated is fake and no such appointment has been made.

This Facebook post along with several others carrying the same image of the alleged appointment letter and a photo of PTI MP Maleeka Bokhari claim the parliamentarian has been appointed “as chairperson of the Benazir Income Support Programme”.

Screenshot of misleading report

This report by the broadcaster Lahore News also said that Bokhari had been appointed as the chairperson of the programme.

It added that Bokhari was a sister of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s close friend and aide Zulfi Bokhari -- a claim that the MP later denied in a tweet.

The Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) is a federal financial aid programme that provides unconditional cash transfers to impoverished residents. It was created in 2008 and named after the late prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

Bokhari wrote in a tweet that she has not been given the job and also said she was not related to Zulfi Bokhari.

Screenshot of tweet

“I want to categorically put it on record that I have not been appointed as Head of BISP. I am also not related to Zulfi Bokhari. I hope this suffices & should put the discussion to an end,” she said.

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry in a tweet responding to the incident also said: "A series of Fake notifications and news is systematically spread on social media.”

“Without effecting (sic) freedom on (Social Media) we need to take strict action against fake news,” Chaudhry added.

A spokesperson for BISP Samina Farzeen also told AFP that the government has not appointed a new chairperson for the programme.

“So far the government of Pakistan has not appointed a chairperson,” Farzeen said.

Following a raft of fake news reports spreading on social media in Pakistan, the PTI government has launched a dedicated Twitter account to debunk similar fake reports.

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