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The Prime Minister Imran Khan has approved setting up of a digital media wing to respond to the criticism and opposition, and defend the policies and actions of PTI government. According to media reports, the government has also gotten approval of 42 million Rupees to set up this wing. To be established under the Ministry of Information, this wing will comprise of 27 individuals who are expected to be appointed based on MP2 and MP3. This wing will reportedly defend state policies on the internet.
There was no amount allocated for the setting up of digital media wing under the budget for ongoing fiscal year, and according to the senior journalist Rauf Klasra, the PM Imran Khan’s decision to establish this wing was struck down by his own financial advisor, Hafeez Sheikh, on accounts of unavailability of funds.
Furthermore, according to Klasra, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) also rejected the budget summary for the digital media wing submitted by the Ministry of Information. To address this, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Firdous Ashiq Awan, says that Ministry of Finance doesn’t have the authority over supplementary grants, and ECC has left the decision of the budget for digital media wing at the discretion of the Prime Minister, which the PM has now approved.
