Pakistan's Minister of State for Interior, Talal Chaudhry, has made serious allegations against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), accusing the party of orchestrating a prolonged and well-funded propaganda campaign on social media platforms. The minister presented these claims during a press conference held in Islamabad on Monday.
Fake Accounts and Foreign Operations
Chaudhry stated that the campaign is not an organic expression of public opinion but a coordinated effort involving paid content. He asserted that every message, tweet, and online trend associated with this campaign is being financially compensated. A significant portion of this activity, according to the minister, originates from outside Pakistan's borders.
"Most of these accounts are being operated from abroad," Chaudhry clarified. "They are fake accounts created under false identities, and all this evidence has been obtained directly from the social media platforms themselves." He emphasized that the data he referred to was not produced by the government but provided by the tech companies hosting these platforms, which are also based overseas.
Links to Militant Propaganda
The minister escalated the gravity of the accusations by linking the disinformation campaign to support for banned militant organizations. He alleged that the content disseminated through these fake networks is designed to bolster groups like the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
"We have been fighting terrorists for a long time and are standing on the front line against terrorism," Chaudhry said. "Yet, these fake accounts are being used to support the BLA and TTP." This connection frames the online activity not merely as political propaganda but as a direct threat to national security.
Constitutional Limits and Government Action
While outlining these threats, the minister also underscored the importance of freedom of expression, stating it must be exercised within the boundaries defined by the Constitution and the law. The government's stance positions it as defending lawful discourse against malicious, foreign-backed manipulation.
Chaudhry detailed the government's responsive measures, noting that relevant institutions have already traced the involved accounts and are actively reporting fake profiles to the social media platforms for action. He pledged that the Interior Ministry would continue its efforts to counter what he described as organized digital campaigns aimed at undermining Pakistan's stability and security.
The press conference served as a formal declaration of the government's intent to confront online disinformation, presenting it as a paid, externally-fueled assault on the state's narrative and security apparatus.
