Name the unnamed

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb on Saturday challenged Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan to tell the names of agencies which gave him report about Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Pakistan People’s Party. In a tweet, she also posed a question as to who had given Imran Khan guarantee about the chief election commissioner. Castigating Imran Khan, she said that instead of staging political dramas and levelling baseless accusations against the opponents, he should disclose the names on whose behest he kept making false accusations against the political adversaries and put them in jails. Instead of taking out the protest rally, Imran should disclose why he used Shahbaz Gill for issuing statement inciting rebellion within the institutions, she maintained. The minister asked Imran to clarify why he campaigned against the martyrs of Lasbela helicopter crash tragedy through his social media trolls. Separately, Marriyum Aurangzeb debunked the propaganda of ‘instigator’ Imran Khan and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) regarding the custodial torture of Shahbaz Gill, who was facing trial for inciting mutiny in the rank and file of the armed forces. “There is a need to inform the nation about a fake viral video wrongly attributed to Shahbaz Gill on social media which portrays that he was brutally tortured in police custody. This is a video of a rapist from Chakwal who sexually assaulted a child and was badly beaten by the locals,” the minister said while addressing a news conference. During the press conference, Marriyum also played the latest video of Imran Khan’s close aide, Shahbaz Gill, which showed him healthy and fit while conversing with an official of police in a room of a hospital in Islamabad. “This is the video of Shahbaz Gill which was made just an hour ago,” she said, adding how could a person, who was said to be tortured, look so fit and refreshed during his stay at the hospital. She said the chief instigator of propaganda regarding Gill’s custodial torture was Imran Khan who wanted to divert attention from the real matter involving him and his close aide in incitement of mutiny in the military. The minister said an “obnoxious” and “botch” attempt was being made to mislead the nation and change the story of Gill’s alleged sedition with his torture and sexual assault. She said she could not play a morally unacceptable video wrongly attributed to Shahbaz Gill at the news conference as the social and mainstream media were public forums and used by every person including children. Marriyum, however, condemned any form of torture on anybody, but categorically rejected any torture on Shahbaz Gill, who she said, was an “excellent actor” and “starts acting when he sees the camera just like his leader Imran Khan.” She said a First Information Report (FIR) was registered against Shahbaz Gill who was being investigated in the case as per law. “It was Imran Khan who gave him a script to read in the ARY News channel for giving a mutiny call in the armed forces,” the minister alleged. Marriyum said the PTI leaders had condemned Gill’s statement, but on contrary its leader Imran Khan unleashed vicious propaganda against the government with full force and announced to hold a rally to save his skin in this particular case in a bid public attention from the matter. “We will not let this happen and the people will be informed about the reality,” she stressed.She said it was not the first time that Imran Khan had tried to change the story as there were multiple instances when he launched a malicious campaign against the state institutions to divert public attention from his wrongdoings. “He (Imran) even did not spare the military martyrs who lost their lives in a helicopter crash in Lasbellah and slammed them on social media through his trollers,” the minister said. She urged the media and people to abstain from becoming part of his disinformation campaign and warned that sharing the fake video on social media was tantamount to cybercrime. “It has nothing to do with the freedom of expression as sharing harmful, anti-social, and fake content on social media is not allowed,” Marriyum remarked. Addressing Imran Khan, she said there should be some “shame” and “sensibility.” With this propaganda, the story would not be changed as evidence in Gill’s case had been collected and full details of the inquiry would be shared with the public upon its completion.