ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s cybercrime authorities have registered a case against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Sohail Afridi over remarks he made about state institutions, accusing him of issuing “false, misleading and derogatory” statements, according to a police report reviewed by Arab News on Monday.
The case was filed on Sunday after Afridi spoke to reporters outside Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, where he had gone to meet Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and jailed former prime minister Imran Khan. During the exchange, Afridi criticized Pakistan’s security forces and their conduct in the province.
The complaint says Afridi “knowingly and deliberately with malafide intentions and ulterior motives uttered false, misleading, derogatory and intimidating words against State Institutions,” and that the remarks were recorded and shared online.
“In the aforementioned video, the accused made statement containing offensive, profane, false, misleading, and unfounded allegations, with the intent to malign, defame, and cause harm to the reputation and integrity of the State Institutions of Pakistan,” the police report states.
The complaint says the remarks were promoted through political social media channels as an “organized attempt” to undermine public trust and “create unrest in the country and destabilize national security.”
Afridi has been booked under sections relating to hate speech, offenses against the dignity of a person and false or fake information under Pakistan’s electronic crimes law. The investigation has been assigned to a sub-inspector at the cybercrime agency.
Responding to the charges, KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi said the statements “undermine the honor and sacrifices of security forces” fighting militancy in the region, where violence has surged in recent months.
Afridi became chief minister last month after replacing Ali Amin Gandapur. His PTI party has repeatedly accused the federal government and the military of restricting its political space, allegations officials deny.
Pakistan has increasingly pursued defamation and cybercrime cases in response to criticism of the military, which continues to wield significant influence in national politics. The government and army deny political persecution.
