A man allegedly pretending to be a journalist from the British public broadcaster BBC has come under fire after being busted by a journalist on Twitter.
The man, who is yet to be identified, is said to have interviewed several senior Pakistani ministers while wearing a fake identity card and carrying a mic with a BBC World News logo on it.
An inquiry has been launched after the alleged impostor entered the restricted senate area, said Pakistani Senator Rehman Malik.
The man sporting long hair pretended to be a BBC Italy reporter, while interviewing former Interior Minister Rehman Malik.
After the pictures of him appeared on the internet, a BBC Urdu journalist Tahir Imran Mian called his bluff by pointing out: “...this guy is an imposter who pretends to be a BBC journalist. He is not a BBC employ [sic]”.
Minister Malik also tweeted, saying he suspected the man of being a fraud when he got nervous after the politician posed questions to him. Malik subsequently registered a complaint against the reporter at the BBC office in Islamabad.
“I suspected him and reported to BBC and ordered the inquiry. He interviewed many senators including Amir JI. He will be arrested as impostor,” Malik said.
The incident evoked reactions by several concerned citizens as recently a Tik Tok user breached the security of the Pakistani Foreign Ministry and occupied the chair reserved for the country’s prime minister.