Saudi Arabia fines and suspends social media accounts in crackdown Israel reaffirms Gaza entry ban for foreign journalists The most popular JournalismPakistan stories of 2025 explained CBS journalists urge leadership to protect editorial independence Ghana media group condemns court restrictions on journalist China threatens detention over sharing Uyghur songs Court orders release of Turkish journalist pending appeal Egyptian press honors excellence as media freedom questions persist Afghanistan journalists face 205 media freedom violations in 2025 Family and team revive Arshad Sharif’s YouTube channel Saudi Arabia fines and suspends social media accounts in crackdown Israel reaffirms Gaza entry ban for foreign journalists The most popular JournalismPakistan stories of 2025 explained CBS journalists urge leadership to protect editorial independence Ghana media group condemns court restrictions on journalist China threatens detention over sharing Uyghur songs Court orders release of Turkish journalist pending appeal Egyptian press honors excellence as media freedom questions persist Afghanistan journalists face 205 media freedom violations in 2025 Family and team revive Arshad Sharif’s YouTube channel
Logo
Janu
Unlocking the secrets of the media industry

Official dismisses journalist Azaz Syed's tweet as 'lifafa reporting'

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published 7 years ago

Join our WhatsApp channel

Official dismisses journalist Azaz Syed's tweet as 'lifafa reporting'

ISLAMABAD - Shahzad Akbar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Accountability, is not happy with investigative journalist Azaz Syed for hinting he spent hours at FIA headquarters where the JIT members probing fake accounts were also present.

In a harsh tweet, Akbar called Syed’s tweet “despicable n pure lifafa reporting, I categorically told @AzazSyed tht My mother was admitted in Shifa hospital in emergency n I was with her, a fact also personally in knowledge of this journalist as I considered him a friend, yet he spread rumours”.

Quoting sources, Syed tweeted: “Sources reveal that last night gov.adviser Barrister Shahzad Akbar spent hours at @FIA_Pakistan Hqs along its senior officials. Incidentally, all the members of the #JIT on fake accounts were also present there to give final touches to their report. When I called, Akbar denies.”

In reply to a tweet from PPPP leader Saeed Ghani, the special assistant denied meeting JIT probing fake accounts. “Thanks @SaeedGhani1 n out of respect for you, I categorically deny meeting JIT n specifically on 19 December, FIA n it’s DG (additionally NAB, FBR & FMU/SBP) interacts with me n my office on daily basis for our work under Assets Recovery Unit.”

Commenting on this episode, journalist and analyst Imtiaz Gul simply tweeted: “Bad Journalism.”

 

Explore Further

Newsroom
Saudi Arabia fines and suspends social media accounts in crackdown

Saudi Arabia fines and suspends social media accounts in crackdown

 December 31, 2025 Saudi regulators fined and suspended social media accounts in December 2025, signaling tighter online speech controls under cybercrime laws amid scrutiny of criticism over reforms.


Israel reaffirms Gaza entry ban for foreign journalists

Israel reaffirms Gaza entry ban for foreign journalists

 December 31, 2025 Israel has reaffirmed restrictions barring foreign journalists from entering Gaza, prompting press freedom groups to warn of reduced transparency and limits on independent reporting.


CBS journalists urge leadership to protect editorial independence

CBS journalists urge leadership to protect editorial independence

 December 30, 2025 Current and former CBS journalists are organizing a petition urging leadership to protect editorial independence after a high-profile investigative segment was pulled, raising newsroom governance concerns.


Ghana media group condemns court restrictions on journalist

Ghana media group condemns court restrictions on journalist

 December 30, 2025 Ghana’s Private Newspapers and Online News Publishers Association condemns court-imposed restrictions on journalist Innocent Samuel Appiah, warning of risks to press freedom and anti-corruption reporting.


China threatens detention over sharing Uyghur songs

China threatens detention over sharing Uyghur songs

 December 30, 2025 China is threatening detention for sharing Uyghur-language songs in Xinjiang, highlighting how cultural expression is criminalized under censorship and counterterrorism controls.


Popular Stories