Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: Punjab’s Information Minister Azma Bukhari has stated that those employing Taliban-like methods in political opposition will be treated like the Taliban.
While speaking to the media, Azma Bukhari said that this is not the government’s incompetence but its decency that such individuals are not being dealt with more severely.
She alleged that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has a propaganda cell that is used to insult people.
The Punjab minister emphasised the need for regulations and guidelines to govern the use of social media to prevent its misuse.
Bukhari further claimed that 500 SIM cards have been issued in the name of a female accused, which are being used by her husband.
These SIM cards are being used to blackmail and mistreat people, and such actions are being carried out with the intent to create unrest and rebellion.
She made it clear that the government neither possesses fake accounts nor intends to create them.
She had earlier criticised PTI, suggesting that its leaders are trying to replicate the kind of chaos that led to the creation of Bangladesh.
This came after the Punjab government imposed Section 144, banning public gatherings for three days across eight cities in response to the planned protests by the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.
The Information Minister also added that when the Prime Minister takes action, it is labeled as a violation of freedom of speech, and these incidents are not happening coincidentally but with complete planning.
Earlier, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) informed the National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunication that it had blocked around 732,000 illegal Subscriber Identity/Identification Modules (SIMs) during 2021 till date. However, the committee meeting, chaired by Ali Khan Jadoon, expressed dissatisfaction over the action taken against illegal use of SIM cards, directing the PTA and Nadra chairmen to appear before the body with a comprehensive plan of action in that regard.
The committee observed that illegal SIMs were a threat to the county’s security.
“We want to end the issue of illegal SIMs as soon as possible but the departments concerned are not cooperating with us as these are threatening the national security,” the committee chairman said.
The PTA representatives informed the committee that the authority had introduced stringent measures to check illegal SIMs and problems had been considerably reduced.
Earlier, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari Sunday took jibes at the PTI leaders following the alleged failure of their planned uprising drawing parallels to the May 9 incident when protests erupted. In a statement, she claimed that those promising revolution retreated in chaos, leaving behind their shoes. Bokhari praised the people of Punjab for rejecting what she described as a “fitna” (chaotic) movement, emphasizing that the combined efforts of the federal and provincial governments had successfully contained the unrest.
