KARACHI: The Pakistan Television (PTV) Network on Sunday televised Prime Minister Imran Khan’s address from China but misspelled the Chinese capital Beijing as “Begging” in what appeared to be a typographical error.

The premier was addressing an event at the Central Party School in Beijing which the PTV was broadcasting live. However, on the top left corner of the screen — which is supposed to show the location of the event — the ticker read ‘Begging’ instead of Beijing.

The faux pas becomes particularly ironic since Mr Khan is looking to secure financial support from China to overcome massive economic problems at home. The typo reportedly remained on screen for a good 20 seconds or so before it was rectified.

After screenshots of the mistake went viral on social media, the broadcaster took to Twitter to apologise for the error: “Today, during a live address of the prime minister during his ongoing visit to China, a typographical error took place, which remained on screen for 20 seconds and later removed. This incident is regrettable. Strict action has been initiated under rules against concerned officials.”

Published in Dawn, November 6th, 2018