ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN—Pakistani authorities are engaged with the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) as part of an investigation to determine who is operating the official account of incarcerated former Prime Minister and PTI founder, Imran Khan.
Speaking on the Dawn News TV programme ‘Doosra Rukh with Nadir Guramani’ on Friday, Minister of State for Law and Justice Barrister Aqeel Malik confirmed the government’s pursuit of the matter. “Investigations are underway [into who is operating PTI founder’s X account],” he stated.
The State Minister added that the authorities expect to unearth evidence that will “disclose where the account’s links are and who is running it.” He assured that “there is definitely an [the authorities’] engagement with X,” and predicted that the results of the legal process adopted in this investigation will be “before you very soon.”
The urgency surrounding the account stems from the fact that Imran Khan, imprisoned since August 2023, does not have access to the internet while serving his sentence at Adiala Jail. Despite his confinement, the account remains active.
The account recently caused a stir when it posted a detailed statement revealing that officials from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had questioned Khan in prison regarding his “anti-state” tweets and critical remarks on foreign policy. Notably, this was the first instance where such a detailed account of a law enforcement interrogation was publicized via his official social media platform, even as Khan has previously refused to answer questions without his lawyers present.
The controversy has escalated into a legal challenge. Last month, a petition was filed in the Islamabad High Court challenging the alleged inflammatory posts made from the account during Khan’s incarceration. The petitioner specifically requested the court to direct the National Cybercrime Investigation Agency and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority to conduct a thorough probe to identify the individual operating the account.
Imran Khan is currently serving a sentence in a £190 million corruption case and faces pending trials, including those under the Anti-Terrorism Act related to the protests of May 9, 2023. The official investigation into his social media activity thus intersects high-stakes legal cases with the critical issue of state narratives and digital communication.
