PM appoints ex-PTI member as focal person on digital media

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has appointed PTI’s expelled former information secretary Ahmad Jawad as his focal person on digital media and technologies to fight the battle of narratives and counter the PTI on the social media, it emerged on Friday.

The prime minister’s decision to appoint Jawad, who is known for launching no-holds-barred tirade against the PTI’s top leadership including ex-premier Imran Khan on the social media, reflects the importance he gives to fighting the battle of narratives through the social media.

“Will defiantly counter the negative narratives perpetuated for decades, get ready PTI fans, now I am entering the arena with the power of truth and faith to defeat the narrative of lie, hatred and hypocrisy,” Jawad tweeted while sharing his appointment letter and expressing gratitude for PML-N leadership.

Apart from holding public rallies, ex-PM Imran Khan is often seen investing a lot of time in social media, building narrative through interviews, podcasts, Twitter Space and other social media platforms and meeting social media influencers. It helped PTI to get massive social media following when the other parties were busy countering PTI narrative only through mainstream media.

Using the social media to tell a story or spread the word has become a hallmark of the PTI when the other parties are busy learning the ropes as far as their ability to develop media strategies and counter the opponents is concerned.

Apparently, sensing the situation and in order to counter PTI’s narrative, PM Shehbaz has picked Jawad as his focal person on digital media & technologies and directed that all concerned should extend their full support to him in discharging his official duties.

Read more: PTI expels ex-info secretary for launching tirade against leadership

In February, Jawad had joined the PML-N after calling on the then opposition leader in the National Assembly and incumbent PM at his Model Town residence. PML-N secretary general Ahsan Iqbal had revealed the news in a tweet, alleging that ex-PM Imran Khan had “deceived” thousands of people like Jawad who were “trapped” by his slogan of Naya Pakistan.

Prior to that, the PTI expelled Jawad from for his tirade against Imran and other PTI leaders and served a show-cause notice on him, directing him to explain his position, which he did not. The PTI had said that Jawad could have used a different forum in the party to express his resentment but “he used social media with an aim to malign the party causing severe damage”.

“The sub-committee unanimously decided to strike down the party membership of Ahmad Jawad from the party membership register,” PTI’s Standing Committee on Accountability and Discipline (SCAD)’s statement had read.

Responding to the decision, Jawad in a series of tweets had severely criticized the policies of the then ruling party and also raised questions over the regularization of Imran’s properties. In one of tweets, Jawad had termed SCAD’s decision as a “piece of paper which does not value more than a piece of shit”.

Additionally, he had stated that PTI had turned into a “House of garbage” after starting as an ideology of change. “A deception which wasted two decades of this nation,” he had added, saying one could walk on toughest path with open eyes, but he would fall on a flat path with closed eyes.