Alleged character assassination: PMLN leader moves FIA against culprits

MANSEHRA: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) leader Sardar Zahoor Ahmad on Wednesday filed an application with the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA)’s cybercrime wing seeking an action against those involved in his character assassination on social media.

“I am a former MPA and my position in the elections was strong enough to win the provincial assembly’s elections, but baseless rumours and character-damaging propaganda through social media shattered my entire campaign,” he told reporters here.

Zahoor Ahmad said he had pleaded through his application to the FIA’s assistant director of the cybercrime wing to trace and take action under the Prevention of Electronic Crime Act (Peca) 2016 against social media account holders and those behind them involved in a series of his character assassination and baseless propaganda pre-and post-February 8 general elections in the district.

“We cannot allow anybody to manipulate the democratic process of electioneering through such a camouflaged character assassination and baseless propaganda and rumours,” he added.

Zahoor Ahmad, who lost to the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf-backed independent contestant Babar Saleem Swati in PK-47 Mansehra-II, said that the political parties should shun such propaganda wings and take punitive action against those party workers involved in such crimes.