Thaindian News

ISLAMABAD (BNO NEWS) — It was the top story of many Pakistani newspapers on Thursday: leaked U.S. embassy cables described Indian officials as vain, egotistical and genocidal and said the Indian army had committed gross human rights violations.

Several newspapers, including ‘The News’ and ‘The Express Tribune’, ran the story in its Thursday edition. But the British newspaper The Guardian discovered the story had been fabricated, and possibly copied from another website.

“It now transpires that the story, which was run by a news agency, Online, was not authentic,” a correction from The Express Tribune said on its website. “The Express Tribune deeply regrets publishing this story without due verification and apologises profusely for any inconvenience caused to our valued readers.”

It appears the Islamabad-based ‘Online’ news agency, which claims it provides news content to 131 newspapers, was behind the error. The agency did not immediately explain how the false story was published.

‘The News’ also ran a correction on its website on Friday. “The story was released by [..] Online news agency and was run by The News and Daily Jang with the confidence that it was a genuine report and must have been vetted before release. However, several inquiries suggest that this was not the case,” the paper said.

‘The News’ said it had contacted the owner of the ‘Online’ news agency, Mohsin Baig, who was also unclear about the source of the story. “Mohsin Baig said he had just returned from Turkey where he had accompanied the prime minister on his official visit and was therefore in the dark about how the story was released,” the paper said, adding that Baig promised to talk to his editorial staff.

The newspaper added: “After a while, Online’s news editor contacted us and told us he too was unaware about the source of the story and would check and get back to us as soon as possible. Despite repeated requests, he declined to contact the employee who had downloaded the news, and asked us to check with them the next day. On further inquiries, we learnt from our sources that the story was dubious and may have been planted.”

According to The Guardian, the ‘Online’ report originated from other websites which apparently have close connections with intelligence agencies.