Tag: Serena Hotel

  • Arnab Goswami’s lie about Pak army backfires, becomes Twitter meme

    Arnab Goswami’s lie about Pak army backfires, becomes Twitter meme

    Indian journalist Arnab Goswami was once again caught spreading fake news about Pakistan but was called out for it by his Pakistani guest. Goswami lied about the presence of the Pakistan Army officers in Kabul Serena to fight in Panjshir Valley.

    Goswami claimed that the Pakistan Army officers were staying on the fifth floor of the Serena Hotel in Kabul but did not know that Kabul Serena only has two floors above ground level.

    In his programme ‘The Debate’ on Republic World TV last week, Goswami had invited an Indian analyst as well as Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) spokesperson Abdul Samad Yaqoob, to represent Pakistan, in a discussion on what the channel termed a “big split” within the Taliban.

    Goswami addressed Yaqoob and said: “You go and check today … on the fifth floor of the Serena Hotel, I am telling you, please check, the fifth floor of the Serena Hotel in Kabul, how many Pakistani army officers are there?”

    “I am giving you. [Do] you want more details? I’ll tell you which room, or is this enough? [On the] fifth floor of the Serena Hotel, Kabul, how many Pakistani officers are there. Okay? I can also tell you what they ordered for dinner, so don’t question my intelligence sources.”

    Yaqoob countered Goswami’s claims and said, “What I got to know from my sources [is that] Serena has only two floors. There are no third, fourth or fifth floors.”

    The Indian anchor had no logical answer and sought to draw attention away from his faux pas. 

    Netizens from around the world called out Goswami for making false claims, making him a Twitter meme once again.

    A Twitter user from India wrote, “Dear #ArnabGoswami this is Sarena hotel Kabul I am still unable to find out [the] fifth floor?”

    https://twitter.com/Dilsedesh/status/1439528467465322498

    Indian journalist, Kanishka Raj Singh tweeted, “Finding information on the fifth floor of a building that has only two floors requires great journalism and brilliant sourcing.”

    Journalist Om Thanvi tweeted, “According-to-sources journalism and its own laughter!”

    Chinese journalist Shen Shiwei too exposed Goswami’s claims by sharing images of the hotel.

    One user rotated a picture of the hotel and mused that Goswami was perhaps counting its floors vertically.

    PTI spokesperson too tweeted a picture with “Arnab’s Intelligence Source” as its caption.

  • ‘Quetta blast was a suicide attack’: Sheikh Rasheed

    Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed said on Thursday that the blast at Serena Hotel in Quetta was a suicide attack. He said this was a foreign attempt to destabilise Pakistan. “Pakistan Army and the people of Pakistan will defeat such designs.” Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed the responsibility for the Quetta blast yesterday. Five people were killed and more than a dozen injured in the deadly attack.

    All law enforcement agencies are on high alert at the instructions of the Interior Ministry. Talking about the attack, Sheikh Rasheed said the suicide bomber stayed inside the car. “C4 explosives weighing between 60 to 70 kilogrammes were used in the attack”. Evidence has been sent for forensic analysis.

    The interior minister also said that social media was misused during the past few days by foreign elements who are behind efforts to destabilise Pakistan. “An estimated 250,000-300,000 social media accounts were created in India.” “These foreign forces cannot see Pakistan prosper and progress,” said the minister. 

    China strongly condemned the terrorist attack. A statement by the Chinese embassy in Pakistan said that Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Nong Rong was leading a delegation on a visit to Quetta on the same day. “When the attack occurred, the Chinese delegation was not in the hotel. Till present, no reports of casualties of Chinese citizens in the attack have been received.”

    Prime Minister Imran Khan tweeted that he is deeply saddened by the loss of innocent lives in the condemnable and cowardly terrorist attack in Quetta yesterday. “Our nation has made great sacrifices in defeating terrorism and we will not to allow this scourge to rise again. We remain alert to all internal and external threats.”

  • Blast inside Serena Hotel’s parking area in Quetta

    Blast inside Serena Hotel’s parking area in Quetta

    At least three people have been killed and several injured, including two government officials, after an explosion in the parking area of the Serena Hotel in Quetta, as per media reports. Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has claimed responsibility for the attack.

    Initial reports say that the cause of the blast, which took place at 10:30 pm local time, has not yet been ascertained. Security forces have cordoned off the area. Rescue teams have arrived at the site of the explosion.

    Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry has said that the Interior Ministry is in touch with the Balochistan Government.

    “Once details come in, the government will comment further on the issue,” said Fawad.

    According to journalist Ihsan Tipu, the attack was aimed at the Chinese Ambassador, who was reportedly staying at the hotel.

    Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed has clarified that the Chinese Ambassador was in the hotel but was not present at the time of the blast.