ISLAMABAD: The Anti-Corruption Circle Islamabad has initiated proceedings against three senior officials of the Pakistan Official News Agency, the Associated Press of Pakistan Corporation (APP), over allegations of corruption, fraud, criminal negligence, and misuse of authority.
According to the Private channel report, the arrested APP officers are the Director of the IT Department, Muhammad Ghauth, Chief Computer Engineer, Saad Muddassir, and Deputy Director, Musawir Imran.
The officials were apprehended after the court rejected their appeals for pre-arrest bail. Initial investigations indicate that the accused caused a loss of Rs124 million to the national exchequer through their allegedly corrupt practices.
Media reports said that they were part of the APP’s buying committee and allegedly worked together to give a contract worth Rs113 million to a company called Artic Systems.
The financial proposal of the firm had not been approved by the competent authority; however, the officials fabricated fake minutes of the procurement committee to get the bills approved by the Accountant General of Pakistan Revenues (AGPR).
The Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) has come a long way since its inception, evolving from a text-only news service to a modern digital news service provider.
The APP, serving the nation since 1947 by providing an accurate, objective, and uninterrupted flow of news to the people, is implementing a comprehensive strategy to transform its existing news operations into a forward-looking service (APP Digital) committed to delivering rich news content, including text, photos, videos, and graphics, to its diverse subscribers and the public.
Once fully mature, the Digital News will serve as a rich online source of information for the latest news, reports, and analytical write-ups on Pakistan, as well as events and issues of regional and international importance. All these services will be made available on a range of digital platforms.
Adhering to the guiding principles of the APP, the wire service aims to provide authentic news content through its multiple platforms within the shortest possible time to the widest possible audience.
The regular Associated Press of Pakistan news service provides content in English and Urdu and also offers translation services for Sindhi, Siraiki, Pashto, Arabic, Balochi, and Brahvi languages.
APP is releasing its news photos and videos to regular subscribers through FTP, in addition to its web portal and various social media platforms.
Headquartered in Islamabad, APP has nine bureaus and seven stations. It also has foreign correspondents in Washington, London, New Delhi, and Beijing, along with a stringer at the United Nations in New York.
APP has around 500 editorial staff and 108 correspondents at the district and tehsil levels. On average, APP releases 30,000 stories per month in English and Urdu, 4,500 in Pashto, Sindhi, Arabic, Siraiki, and Balochi languages, and around 2,000 photographs and video clips.
