Imran used state resources to promote political agenda on social media

Islamabad ATC declares 10 key PTI leaders as absconders,

Imran Khan challenges indictment in cipher case,

Islamabad_Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was reportedly found guilty of utilizing state resources to promote the party’s agenda during its tenure,

According to the official documents, the government resources were used to promote the PTI leadership, and political narrative, as well as the state resources also used for character assassination of the opposition political leaders during PTI tenure.

The PTI leadership during its tenure allegedly sidelined the annual development projects and tasked the social media team to disseminate PTI’s political narrative as well as fake social media teams were allegedly utilized for personality cult promotion and spreading misinformation.

These accounts were used for political purposes and to incite public sentiments for personal and political gain.

Government funds were channeled into disseminating divisive messages in society, and these accounts experienced a significant increase in followers due to official resources.

PTI allegedly spent millions from the state exchequer to pay social media teams, who were employed for monthly salaries ranging from Rs 25,000 to Rs 40,000, meanwhile, the cost of this project amounted to Rs 870 million.

According to recent investigation, it was revealed that 72.5 percent of the 800 social media accounts had no affiliation with PTI prior to 2021. However, after 2022, 86 percent of these accounts began posting PTI narratives.

The report further suggests that PTI recruited youth to advance the party’s agenda, and these accounts, on May 9, attempted to sow discord among the public and institutions by spreading hatred.

While,

An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Wednesday declared the ten leaders of PTI as absconder while issuing perpetual arrest warrants against them in case pertaining to the vandalizing at judicial complex.

The declared court absconder include Murad Saeed, Asad Umar, Ali Amin Gandapur, Shibli Faraz, Farukh Habib, Hammad Azhar, Omar Ayub Khan, Ali Nawaz Awan, Hassan Khan Niazi, Umar Sultan and Muhammad Asim.

ATC Judge Abual Hasnat Muhammad Zulqarnain heard the aforesaid case and declared the accused absconder due to continuous absence from proceeding.

The court instructed the police to present the accused before it after arresting them.

It may be mentioned here that the capital police had registered case against the accused for protesting and vandalizing the public property during the appearance of chairman PTI in judicial complex,

Imran Khan has challenged his indictment in the cipher case before the Islamabad High Court.

Imran has requested the court to declare the proceedings to indict him null and void. The petition was submitted in the high court through advocates Salman Safdar and Khalid Yousaf.

The complainant in the original cipher case, Interior Secretary Yousaf Naseem Khokhar, and the state of Pakistan have been made parties in the petition.

The trial court indicted Imran Khan in haste and wants to complete the trial in a rush, the petition maintained.

It further stated that by pursuing the trial in haste would affect the basic constitutional rights. The trial cannot proceed in the wake of the absence of the main evidence, the cipher telegraph, it stated.

The petition has requested for declaring the October 23 order of the Official Secrets Act court null and void, adding that under the law, charges can be framed seven days after the copies of the investigation report have been provided to the suspects.

The petition says the trial court did not consider the seven-day legal requirement. There was no order from the superior judiciary to conduct daily trials or wrap up the case early, it argued.

Meanwhile, IHC judge Justice Babar Sattar has recused himself from hearing Imran Khan’s petition to revive his bail pleas in the Toshakhana and Al-Qadir Trust cases of the NAB.

Now, a bench would be constituted to hear the PTI chief’s plea.