PTI has accused PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz of running social media trends against Prime Minister Imran Khan. The accusation comes amid the recent arrest of Sabir Mahmood Hashmi, a PML-N activist, for vilifying the First Lady.
To clarify, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) arrested Sabir Hashmi, accused of running indecent trends against Prime Minister Imran Khan on social media. As a result, his arrest sparked outrage from Maryam Nawaz who took to Twitter to castigate PM Khan.
In a tweet, Maryam Nawaz said, “Sabir Mehmood’s abduction is proof of the government’s bafflement”. She also questioned whether PM Khan is a “sacred cow” no one can criticize.
Read more: Rabi Pirzada: Leaked Personal Videos & Absurd Trends On Social Media
Reacting to Maryam Nawaz’s fury at the arrest of Hashmi, PTI’s official Twitter account claimed that Maryam Nawaz is behind the malicious media campaigns.
“If there was any doubt about who leads filthy trends on Twitter, it shall be gone now. The person arrested by FIA for abusive trends turned out to be affiliated with PML-N and openly endorsed by Maryam Safdar. How shameful,” PTI tweeted.
[Big Revelation by Maryam Safdar herself]
If there was any doubt about who leads filthy trends on Twitter, it shall be gone now. The person arrested by FIA for abusive trends turned out to be affiliated with PMLN and openly endorsed by Maryam Safdar. How shameful! See below: pic.twitter.com/aXSQ1UoGAt
— PTI (@PTIofficial) February 16, 2022
Furthermore, PTI’s accusation comes based on Maryam Nawaz’s notoriety for controlling media. After leaked audios, the PML-N leader came under heavy fire for manipulating the media. Therefore, claims are making the rounds that Maryam Nawaz is also behind the social media campaign against PM Khan.
Read more: Maryam Nawaz claims to be controlling media allegedly in new audio clip
Important to note, Twitter is a hub for political parties to run trends against each other, a feat that both the ruling and the Opposition deny. However, every other day, there seems to be a trend running in Pakistan, targetting political leaders.
Govt to introduce strong defamation laws: Fawad Chaudhry
In a bid to protect leaders from crass social media trends and hate speech, the PTI government announced that it will introduce strong defamation laws. Federal Minister Fawad Chaudhry revealed during a media briefing after a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
The decision comes in light of the recent media attack on Minister Murad Saeed, and subsequently the First Lady. A local news channel came under heavy criticism and even received a show-cause notice from PEMRA for derogatory remarks on Minister Murad Saeed.
Read more: PTI leaders slam journalist for disrespecting Murad Saeed
Similarly, Sabir Hashmi claimed that Bushra Bibi got into a fight with PM Imran Khan. She left Bani Gala for Lahore to stay at her friend, Farah Khan’s house. The rumor soon started spreading on social media and WhatsApp groups. However, Farah Khan refuted the news.
Needless to say, the rumor caused a storm among PTI ministers who demanded strict action against the journalist. Therefore, in order to prevent such incidents from happening again, the government will bring strong laws.
“It is embarrassing to see that the people file cases abroad on the defamation cases as they don’t have any trust in the judicial system here. Anyone can say anything here without any repercussion because defamation is a bailable offense,” Fawad Chaudhry said.
“Even national security institutions come under fire. The hate speech is rampant on media platforms,” he further added.