All three leading ‘troubling’ PTI social media accounts belong to Imran

ISLAMABAD: All the three leading verified PTI’s official social media accounts -- ImranKhan, Tehreek-e-Insaf and PTIOfficial -- belong to jailed founder party chairman Imran Khan and are presently run from abroad on Khan’s instruction passed through his sister Aleema Khan.

Official probe into the PTI’s social media platforms -- which are alleged to have been used to target Army, Army Chief General Asim Munir and for some aggressive campaigns -- shows that these accounts are run from abroad by persons designated by Imran Khan, who had created these accounts.

In case of any criminal proceedings on the basis of government’s probe, there would be direct implications for Imran Khan as these accounts are alleged of sharing anti-army and ant-state content belong to him.

Sources claimed that not only Imran Khan himself confirmed this to the FIA in the past but some of the PTI leaders, who are presently being questioned by a JIT led by IG Police Islamabad, also shared the same information. Except Imran Khan and Aleema Khan, no party leader including PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar, Secretary General Suleman Akram Raja and even party’s Information Secretary Shaikh Waqas Akram has any influence or say on the content shared in these accounts, which have a great number of following.

These sources alleged that Jibran Ilyas and Azhar Mashwani operate the social media accounts of Imran Khan from abroad. Jibran Ilyas, who lives in the USA, is said to be the head of PTI’s social media team. Jibran Ilyas is also said to be in touch with various v-loggers and social media activists. Azhar Mashwani, who was in Pakistan, had left reportedly for the UK after the authorities’ post-May 9 crackdown against the PTI.

It is alleged that Aleema Khan feeds the party’s official social media on the instruction of Imran Khan. Aleema Khan is said to be in regular contact with Jibran Ilyas, Azhar Mashwani and one Ali Malik for the party’s narrative building, social media campaigns and other posts, some of which are considered by the government and the establishment as anti-army and anti-Pakistan. It is said that Aleema Khan is also in contact with some youtubers, presently abroad.

PTI’s social media has been on authorities’ radar because of its alleged anti-state and anti-army content. Some probes were conducted before while a JIT led by the IG Police Islamabad was set-up recently to probe “malicious campaigns on social media”.

According to media reports, the JIT issued notices to 15 members of the former ruling party. Some of them have appeared before the JIT while several others have not yet responded to the JIT’s notices.

Among those summoned by the JIT were PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, Hammad Azhar, Salman Akram Raja, Raoof Hasan, Asad Qaiser, Aun Abbas, and Waqas Akram. Others include Firdous Shamim Naqvi, Khalid Khurshid Khan, Aliya Hamza, Kanwal Shauzab, Taimoor Saleem Khan, Shah Farman, Shehbaz Shabbir, and Mian Muhammad Aslam. The JIT had also issued summons to 10 members of PTI’s social media team, including Asif Rasheed, Muhammad Arshad, Sibghatullah Warq, Azhar Mashwani, Muhammad Nauman Afzal, Jibran Ilyas, Syed Salman Raza Zaidi, Zulfi Bukhari, Moosa Warq, and Ali Husnain Malik.