Govt warns of action over smear drive against COAS visit to UK

ISLAMABAD/RIYADH: Federal Minister for Information, Broadcasting, National Heritage and Culture Attaullah Tarar on Thursday warned of legal action against those protesting and running social media campaigns against the Chief of Army Staff (COAS)’s visit to the United Kingdom.

Speaking to a local news channel, the minister said that the army chief received a warm welcome in the UK, which enhanced Pakistan’s international standing. “The world acknowledges the professional capabilities of Pakistan’s Armed Forces,” he stated.

He accused the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of being unable to accept the respect given to the army chief abroad. “A handful of miscreants launched a social media campaign and staged protests, but patriotic Pakistanis have rejected their actions,” he added.

The minister vowed action against those involved in the campaign. “Anyone who harms Pakistan’s integrity and interests will face legal consequences,” he warned.

He accused the PTI of inciting violence, stating, “They attacked Jinnah House and desecrated martyrs’ memorials. They have no regard for Pakistan’s security.”

The minister further alleged that PTI followed a “foreign agenda,” facilitated militants and had a history of supporting terrorism. He cited PTI’s actions on May 9, claiming, “There is evidence of what PTI did that day. Their founder even wrote to the IMF, proving their hostility towards Pakistan.”

He dismissed PTI’s political relevance, saying, “Their politics is in decline. They have no agenda, which is why they protest IMF deals one day and army chief visits the next. If Pakistan’s success bothers them, they can keep sulking—every attempt to undermine the country will fail.”

Meanwhile, in a discussion organised by the Saudi Media Forum 2025 in Riyadh, Tarar said that there was a need for further improvement in collaborations in the field of media as local media needed more growth and capacity enhancement.

Expressing his views, he opined that that hand holding from global partners would bring a paradigm change in local media organisations. He said the government would promote such collaborations further so that human resource could benefit from it.

“Our focus is on a vibrant media, a media which is in line with modern trends, a media which has all its aspects covered as far as digital domain is concerned.”

He said Pakistan’s Ministry of Information deals with electronic, print and digital media. He said he was also minister for culture and dealt with cultural aspect. “Out of Pakistan’s 240 million population, 180 million people use the internet and we have a vibrant young population as more than 60 percent of population is under the age of 30,” Tarar informed the audience.

“Our primary focus is on a vibrant, advance, modern media which not only raised awareness on social issues but gave people an opportunity to speak their minds and to recognise talent and skills. We need a media that sheds light on social issues and gives people a chance to speak their minds,” he said.

With regard to Saudi Research and Media Group, he said there were Urdu News, Arab News and Independent News that were doing great job. They not only had digital platforms but overall, they had a very positive impact on the local society on raising awareness on social issues.

About electronic media, he said Pakistan had very good news channels, entertainment channels, filmmaking and documentaries filmmaking potential. He said what Pakistan needed was more collaboration, more international partners which could help local media economy to grow but also help Pakistan’s media to reach its true potential.

Concrete steps were essential to stop the spread of false information and misinformation and fake news which was the biggest challenge of the modern age. Fake information spreads faster than awareness on social issues and that was a challenge all need to find a solution to that challenge. A paradigm shift can be brought about in local media institutions through global partnerships. “International outlets will be welcome to partner with local media outlets in Pakistan. Through international cooperation, we can better realise our potential,” Attaullah Tarar added.

There should be an institution at the global level having a system of fact-checking through artificial intelligence, he said, adding the use of artificial intelligence on social media should be fair, it cannot be biased towards one side. A comprehensive, authentic and reliable system for verifying facts was indispensable, which people could trust and such a partnership will encourage transparency, he said.