Islamabad:
A recent article in a British publication attributed to Imran Khan was not a work of artificial intelligence but was written by Pakistan's jailed former prime minister himself, his party said on Tuesday.
The article, published on Thursday in The Economist titled 'Imran Khan warns Pakistan elections could be a farce', raised serious doubts over whether Pakistan's planned February 8 elections will take place as announced.
Mr Khan, the founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, is being held in the high-security Adiala prison in Rawalpindi, convicted in the Toshakhana corruption case and is being tried in several other cases.
In the article, which drew sharp objections from the interim government, the 71-year-old former prime minister reiterated his “manipulated” removal from power in 2022 by the establishment “under pressure from America” and the lack of “level playing field.” field” in the elections.
The article has already been denied by both the Pakistani government and the US State Department.
Several observers doubted whether the PTI founder had personally written the piece, the Dawn newspaper reported. It was also reported that the former cricketer-turned-politician said that he had not written the essay himself but that it was based on points dictated by him and expressed through artificial intelligence.
Taking to social media platform This has not been compiled in any way through the use of artificial means including artificial intelligence.” “It is clarified that the news/reports of local media on the content and mode of publication of an article by the PTI Chairman for life in a foreign publication The Economist does not reflect the actual state of affairs on the issue,” said a statement from the party's Central Media Department.
“It is clarified that the news/reports are disseminated by local media on the content
and method of publication of an article by the PTI chairman-for-life in a
foreign publication “The Economist” does not reflect the true state of affairs
facts about the case.The piece mentioned is… pic.twitter.com/7ZtqgEnIQG
— PTI (@PTIofficial) January 9, 2024
The former ruling party, which came to power after the 2018 general elections, urged local media to “present the facts and carry out this clarification in letter and spirit by publishing it in their upcoming editions to publish in the same prominent place”, Geo News. reported.
Meanwhile, the PTI founder also expressed doubts while speaking to journalists at the Adiala high security prison on Monday and said he had “verbally dictated” the article.
Information Minister Murtaza Solangi said on Friday that the government will write to the editor of the British publication The Economist in relation to an essay attributed to the jailed Mr Khan.
“We believe it is crucial to uphold ethical standards and promote responsible journalism,” the newspaper quoted Solangi, a former journalist, as saying.
“We would like to know how the editorial decision was made and what considerations were taken into account regarding the legitimacy and credibility of The Economist's content,” he said.
'We would also like to know if The Economist has ever published such ghost articles from jailed politicians from any other part of the world. If imprisoned convicts were free to write to the media, they would always take the opportunity to broadcast their own article. -sided grievances,” the minister said.
Khan served as Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 2018 to April 2022. In April 2022, he was deposed via a vote of no confidence.
After resigning from office in April 2022, Khan went on an international media blitz, appearing on several major global media outlets, but this stopped after his incarceration as access to the PTI chairman was restricted to his lawyers and family members.
In recent months, however, the party has found unconventional ways to get its message across: At a recent virtual meeting, an AI-generated speech was delivered in Mr Khan's voice.
According to the Dawn report, he recently wrote to Chief Justice Qazi Faez Esa, asking the top court to protect the fundamental rights of the party.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)