Talal Chaudhry accuses PTI of running anti-state campaigns through accounts paid abroad

Minister of State for Home Affairs Talal Chaudhry accused Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf of carrying out what he described as a targeted propaganda campaign on social media over a prolonged period. However, he urged that freedom of expression must be exercised within the limits of the Constitution and the law.

“Every message, every tweet and every trend is being paid for,” he said at a press conference in Islamabad on Monday, adding that most of these accounts were created using fake identities and were not operated from Pakistan.

It further claimed that fake social media accounts, many operated from abroad, are being used to spread anti-Pakistan content, and payments are being made for tweets and coordinated online trends.

The minister said he would present documents and evidence during the briefing, clarifying that these were not records generated by the government but data provided by the social media platforms themselves.

“Most of these accounts are being operated from abroad. They are fake accounts created under fake names and all this evidence has been obtained from social media platforms,” ​​he said.

Chaudhry stated that authorities have tracked down the accounts involved and that institutions are actively reporting fake accounts to relevant platforms. He said the companies hosting these platforms are also based abroad.

It further alleged that the content shared through these accounts was being used to support militant groups, including the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). “We have been fighting terrorists for a long time and we are on the front line against terrorism, but these fake accounts are used to support the BLA and TTP,” he said.

The Interior Ministry will continue its efforts to counter online disinformation and what it called organized digital campaigns aimed at undermining national security, he added.