PTI criticised for 'organised campaign' over Mufti Abdul Shakoor's death

• Info minister says elements concocting false theories over accident.
• Blames PTI workers and its social media accounts for misleading masses.
• Terms Mufti Shakoor's demise as a "tragic incident".

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb on Wednesday strongly condemned an “organised campaign” run by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on social media over demise of former religious minister Mufti Abdul Shakoor who died in a road accident in Islamabad last week.

“For the last three days, it has been observed that some elements on social media are linking the accident either with some conspiracy, terrorism or a planned killing which is totally wrong,” the minister said while responding to a calling attention notice raised in the National Assembly.

Mufti Shakoor, who was also a member of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), passed away in a road mishap in the federal capital on April 15.

Police told Geo News that the incident occurred around iftar (evening) when the federal minister was headed towards Secretariat Chowk from a local hotel when a Toyota Hilux Revo — with five people onboard — smashed his vehicle at the driver's side.

Aurangzeb deplored the “irresponsible behaviour” shown by the PTI workers and its social media activists who allegedly shared some posts to mislead the masses on the late minister's demise.

“This campaign is being run from the same social media accounts which were used to run a malicious drive over Lasbela incident,” she said while recalling the demise of some army officials in a helicopter crash last year.

The minister added that the PTI workers and leaders were driven by a mindset which did not even spare deaths and accidents for hatching conspiracies.

She said that a complete report on Mufti Shakoor's incident would be presented before parliament tomorrow (Thursday).

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) politician further said that Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah had already given a policy statement and clarified that this accident had nothing to do with any conspiracy, adding that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had directed the interior minister to constitute a fact-finding committee and present a complete report in that regard.

"I am personally monitoring the matter pertaining to the martyrdom of Mufti Abdul Shakoor," she said terming it a "tragic incident".

All parliamentarians have expressed their deep grief and sorrow in parliament over his demise and honoured him by passing a resolution to posthumously award him Halal-e-Imtiaz for his outstanding and remarkable public service, the minister added.