KP Govt Uncovers Payment Anomalies Involving PTI YouTubers

By Fakhar e Alam

Peshawar: Information and Tourism Caretaker Provincial Minister Farooz Jamal Kakakhel revealed that the caretaker government has unearthed that the Pakistan Tahrik-e-Insaf (PTI) government recruited about 1,109 social media influencers (SMI) for launching negative propaganda against political opponents and the projection of PTI’s policies and its leadership through their social media accounts on a daily basis.

Minister stated that all SMIs were paid a Rs 25,000 monthly salary from the Khyber-Pakhunkhwa (KP) government kitty while sitting at home and were carrying out malicious propaganda against the rival political parties, leaderships and state institutions, besides the continued personal projection of the PTI leadership.

These irrational policies and alleged misappropriation in payment to PTI’s SMIs and U-Tubers had led to political intolerance and chaos in society, besides having very negative effects on the social fabric, he added.

An official source told that SMIs were inducted in 2021 under the establishment of a ‘social media participatory platform for public projects’ with an initial allocation of Rs 870 million in the Annual Development Program of the then PTI government.

Later, the project cost was revised to Rs 736 million, and 1360 internees, including 1253 SMIs, were inducted at Rs 25,000 per month in different departments initially for one year. The project was later closed on April 4, 2023, by the caretaker KP government after unearthing the alleged financial scam and the salaries of all SMIs were stopped citing the unavailability of funds.

During the closure of the project, the source further said that the total number of internees was 1,104, including 1050 SMIs, on whom Rs 242 million were spent from the KP government kitty in nearly two years. The alleged misappropriations in payments to PTI U-tubers and SMIs were taken by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for inquiry.

Forests and Environment Former KP Minister Wajid Ali Khan accused the former PTI government of spending huge taxpayers’ money on its personal projection in a bid to mislead people and hide its 10-year-long poor performance in the province.

Without naming the PTI Chairman, Ali Khan leader alleged that government funds, seemingly intended for public development, were massively used by the former PTI rulers by recruiting mostly its workers as SMIs to promote the hallowed agenda of a specific individual rather than spending it on the genuine welfare of the people of KP, who were deceived in the name of change for nearly a decade, besides creating rifts among state institutions and people.

Wajid stated that the PTI government has used social media influencers as a propaganda tool after failing to fulfill its promise of constructing five million houses and providing jobs to 10 million people. The PTI flagship Billion Trees Afforestation Project was taken over by NAB KP and Peshawar High Court, while Peshawar, which was once known as the city of flowers, was converted into a traffic mess due to an ill-planned BRT corridor, he added.

Wajid Ali added that the much-hyped Sehat Card scheme was launched in haste without proper planning by the PTI incompetent rulers and is currently marred by payment controversies with the State Life Corporation. As a result, poor patients coming from across the province are suffering today.

Environment Minister demanded the completion of an inquiry regarding the alleged misappropriation of government funds in the payment of salaries to SMIs and bringing the real culprits to justice so that no political party can use taxpayers’ money for its personal gains in the future.

MinisterAli maintained that the election campaign is about to start in the country and it is the responsibility of the caretaker government and Election Commission to monitor social media platforms and ensure that objectionable materials and personal attacks through social and digital media could not be used against state institutions.

Meanwhile, internet users in Pakistan swelled to a record 87.35 million in January this year, helping them to get all types of information on a variety of subjects, including geopolitical development, economics, social issues, sports, and culture, among other day-to-day happenings in and around the globe, with a single click on their mobile phones.

In the wake of 4.4 million increases in internet users during the last two years in the country, the number of active cellular mobile connections had swelled to a record 191.8 million which is equivalent to 80.5 percent of the total population of the country. Resultantly, the number of social media users’ has registered an upward increase to a record 71.50 million.

The data on social media platforms has revealed that 37.30 million people were using Facebook, 71.70 million on YouTube, 12.95 million on Instagram, 16.51 million on TikTok, 9.30 million on LinkedIn, 4.65 million on Twitter, and 25.70 million on SnapChat in the country.

The above data indicated that Pakistan has witnessed a remarkable growth in internet, social and digital media users in recent years, with both positive and negative effects on the social fabric of society.

Fakhar-e-Alam is a Peshawar-based APP correspondent, and the feature is released by APP.