Punjab govt footing bill for PML-N social media revamp

Published in The Express Tribune

The Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) has hired two advertisement agencies for publicising and promoting its activities, party sources told The Express Tribune. The decision was taken at a meeting of the party’s social media politics team after recommendations by the PML-N senior leadership and the Punjab government’s information technology-related officials, they added. The meeting, chaired by party president Nawaz Sharif, took place at his Raiwind residence. Punjab Board of Information Technology (PBIT) Chairman Umar Saif gave a presentation to the participants, discussing the PML-N’s current presence on social media and the appeal of the party’s manifesto for the youth. PML-N constituted its team of social media experts to counter the web presence of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM). According to some party officials, however, the team was hired by the Punjab government but has been utilised solely for PML-N objectives. A well placed source in the Punjab Board of Investment and Trade said that two floors of the board’s offices at Arfa Karim Tower were currently occupied by the PML-N’s social media teams, who had been working day and night to accomplish the party’s social media goals. He confirmed that the workers were hired by the Punjab government under PBIT, along with various other departments like the Punjab Sports Board. The Punjab government set up a five-member committee last year to spruce up its image with a social media campaign. This team however, is apparently being utilised to promote PML-N’s social media presence.