Daily Aaj apologizes over fake KP-Punjab boundary notification

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 10 August 2026 |  JP Staff Report

Daily Aaj apologized after printing a front-page report based on a forged Interior Ministry notification that falsely claimed Ghazi tehsil in Haripur had been transferred to Punjab; the edition was halted, the story removed online, and a replacement issued.

Summary

PESHAWAR — Peshawar-based Urdu Daily Aaj has apologized for publishing a lead story claiming that Tehsil Ghazi in Haripur district had been transferred to Punjab, after the newspaper said the federal Interior Ministry notification on which the report was based was found to be fake.

The newspaper said it stopped printing the edition, removed the report from its website and prepared a replacement copy after discovering late at night that the purported notification was not genuine. The incident has drawn attention to the risks of publishing official-looking documents without independently verifying their authenticity, particularly when they concern provincial boundaries.

Aaj said the report had claimed that the federal government had issued a notification making Ghazi tehsil part of Attock district in Punjab. The newspaper later determined that the document attributed to the federal Interior Ministry was fake.

The episode also prompted a response from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Shafi Jan, who described the notification as fake and pointed to the constitutional procedure required for any alteration to provincial boundaries.

Constitutional process makes boundary changes complex

Article 239(4) of the Constitution provides that a constitutional amendment that would alter the limits of a province cannot be presented to the president for assent unless it has been passed by the concerned provincial assembly by a two-thirds majority of its total membership.

The broader amendment procedure also requires a constitutional amendment bill to secure a two-thirds majority in each house of Parliament. The National Assembly has previously cited Article 239(4) when discussing proposals that would alter provincial boundaries.

This means a change to the boundary between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab could not be accomplished simply through a notification issued by a federal ministry. It would require the constitutional process prescribed for altering provincial limits, including approval by the relevant provincial assembly.

Aaj said it acted after discovering the document was false

According to Aaj's account, the newspaper did not continue with the disputed report after learning that the purported notification was fake. It said printing was halted and a revised edition was prepared, while the report was subsequently removed from the newspaper's website.

The newspaper acknowledged that the story had appeared in some copies and online and expressed regret for the publication. It said the apology was being made in keeping with journalistic principles.

The incident illustrates why documents purporting to come from government ministries require verification beyond their appearance or apparent official wording. A fabricated notification can create the impression that a major administrative or constitutional decision has already been taken before the relevant authorities have actually acted.

The case also underscores the particular sensitivity of reports involving provincial boundaries. Such reports can have political and administrative implications well beyond the locality named in a story and therefore require a high level of verification before publication.

For news organizations, the episode is a reminder that speed in publishing must not replace basic verification, especially when a report is based on a document that could have been fabricated or altered.

ATTRIBUTION: Based on a public statement by Aaj on August 10, 2026, and remarks attributed to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Shafi Jan. Constitutional context is based on Article 239 of the Constitution of Pakistan and publicly available National Assembly material.

PHOTO: AI-generated; for illustrative purposes only.