PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Finance Department has been instructed to stop the salaries of 1,109 Social Media Influencers (SMIs) recruited by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government for the promotion of its political agenda.
The move comes in the wake of the dissolution of the KP assembly and the formation of an interim government responsible for holding free, fair and impartial elections.
A notification issued by the KP Information and Public Relations Department called for an immediate halt to the salaries of the SMIs, who were hired for the project titled ‘Establishment of Social Media Participatory Platforms for Public Awareness & Feedback Regarding Reforms Initiatives and Encouraging Civil Responsibility”.
PTI Government hired social media influencers
The project, initiated by the previous PTI government, aimed to spread the party’s narrative on social media by recruiting social media activists on a monthly salary basis.
However, the project has now lost its relevance with the formation of the interim government and the ban on new projects and recruitment by the Election Commission.
The continuation of the project is considered a waste of public resources, and thus, all objectives of the project have been closed.
The notification further requested the immediate halt of all expenditures, including salaries of the Project Management Unit (PMU) and internees’ stipends, in the public’s best interest.
The move to stop the salaries of the SMIs has been widely welcomed by the public, who had previously criticized the PTI government for using public funds to promote its political agenda on social media.
The decision is expected to save significant resources for the KP government, which can now allocate these funds to more pressing needs of the people.
The halt in salaries of the PTI Social Media Influencers marks a significant step towards ensuring transparency and accountability in government spending, and the people of KP have applauded the move.
