PM forms special Task Force to curb anti-state propaganda

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has established a 10-member Joint Task Force to identify and address those responsible for spreading propaganda against the state and its institutions, ARY News reported.

According to reports, the move comes after the November 24 PTI protest in Islamabad, which saw significant anti-state narratives being propagated.

The task force will be headed by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Chairman. Key officials from the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Information, FIA Cybercrime Wing, Intelligence Bureau, ISI, MI, and Islamabad Police are part of the team.

The task force has been directed to act swiftly and has a 10-day deadline to submit its findings and recommendations to the government.

The formation of the task force is part of the government’s effort to ensure accountability and address the growing challenges posed by misinformation and anti-state campaigns.

Earlier on 27 Nov, PM Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif expressed his zero tolerance for any future sit-ins in Islamabad, resolving to take stern decisions.

Addressing a meeting of the federal cabinet, the prime minister, while referring to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) recent protest in the federal capital, said that repeated marches on the capital city had forced them to rethink.

“With the collective deliberations, we had to take strict measures, to quell such scenes in future as we could no longer put all our resources and energies into it, leading to economic destruction,” PM Shehbaz added.

Shehbaz Sharif dubbed the PTI protest as an assault on Islamabad, however, he said that the law enforcement agencies dispersed the protest and provided relief to the public.