Instead of admitting its mistake, the Punjab government on Thursday filed a case against Danyal Umar, a journalist, who had dialed the helpline number to confirm the news of vaccination of late Kulsoom Nawaz, wife of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

Strongly condemning the Punjab government’s action, the journalists’ bodies such as Electronic Media Reporters’ Association (EMRA) regretted that the provincial government, instead of fixing the fault in its system, registered a case against the journalist. 

The reporter, associated with a private news channel, had broken the news of the vaccination of the woman, who was dead. And when, in order to confirm it, he approached the helpline, he was implicated in a case on the complaint of the health department and DDHO Mailsi Dr. Naveed. 

The EMRA expressed surprise as to how a dead man was shown to have received the first dose of the vaccination, thus damaging the country’s reputation.  

The Association appealed to Punjab Health Minister Dr. Yasmin Rashid, secretary health, Punjab, and secretary Primary and Secondary Health to remove DDHO, Mailsi Dr. Naveed, who just in order to hide his incompetence, made the journalist a scapegoat. 

On Wednesday, the secretary of primary and secondary health had forwarded the case to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). 

In the letter, the secretary had stated that the fake entry of the vaccination was made at Mailsi Gymnasium, Vehari. 

Reporters: Irfan Malik