Tweets from Pak embassy in Serbia criticise PM Imran Khan, allege non-payment of salaries
FO says account hacked
Islamabad, Dec 3: Pakistan on Friday said the social media accounts of its embassy in Serbia have been "hacked", hours after the official Twitter handle of the mission criticised the Imran Khan government over record-breaking inflation and alleged non-payment of salaries for the past three months.
The verified Twitter account of the Pakistan had tweeted, "With inflation breaking all previous records, how long do you expect @ImranKhanPTI that we [government] official will remain silent & keep working for you without been paid for past 3 months & our children been forced out of school due to non payment of fees. Is this #NayaPakistan?"
A parody song was also embedded in the tweet that mocked Khan for his often used catchphrase 'ghabrana nahi hai (we do not have to worry)'.
In a tweet, the embassy said: "I am sorry @ImranKhanPTI, am not left with another option."
Soon after the tweets went viral, the Foreign Office issued a statement on Twitter that the social media accounts of the embassy have been hacked.
"The Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts of the Embassy of Pakistan in Serbia have been hacked. Messages being posted on these accounts are not from the Embassy of Pakistan in Serbia," it said.
The tweets have been deleted.
The prime minister's digital media aide, Arslan Khalid, also said that the account was "hacked" and the foreign office is "conducting an enquiry into it".
The "aap nay ghabrana nahi hai" phrase often used by Khan while addressing citizens has become a taunt in Pakistan in the wake of the worsening economic situation and people often tease one another with the jibe.
Khan came to power in August 2018 with the promise to create a Naya (new) Pakistan , but the slogan has also turned into a joke and common people often demand that he should give them back the Purana (old) Pakistan'.
Earlier this week, data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics showed inflation edged up to 11.5 per cent from 9.2 per cent, the highest increase noted in the past 20 months influenced by a record hike in fuel prices in October.
Petrol prices are at a record high at Rs 145 per litre and rupee is at its record low at Rs 176 against one US dollar.
Khan accuses the opposition parties for destroying the institutions and making it difficult to improve the economic situation. He also blames "mafias" for souring his efforts.
The official Twitter handle of Pakistan Embassy Serbia posted a public message condemning Imran Khan.
The Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts of the Embassy of Pakistan in Serbia were hacked. The messages posted during that period were not from the Embassy of Pakistan in Serbia. The accounts now stand restored@ForeignOfficePk
— Pakistan Embassy Serbia (@PakinSerbia) December 3, 2021
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If Cong high command has to decide on leadership, they should do it before Feb: Parameshwara
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Tuesday said that if the Congress high command has to decide anything on the leadership issue, they should do it before the budget preparation in February.
He said, whether the leadership should be changed or not will be decided by the Congress high command.
"The budget preparation will begin in February, Roughly one more month. If the high command has to decide anything on this issue, they should decide before that," Parameshwara said in response to a question on the leadership issue.
Speaking to reporters here, he said, "Someone will have to prepare the budget, right? The budget has to be presented based on the assurance we have given to the people of the state. It will be done."
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To a question regarding some people staging a demonstration in Delhi, during the recent Congress Working Committee meeting, demanding that Prameshwara be made the CM, the Home minister said, "Those who say that Prameshwara should become CM, they would have said it out of affection towards me. How can I tell them not to say such things? You seem to be suggesting that I should tell them not to say such things."
On reports of a team of Congress leaders meeting AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal in Delhi, with a demand to make Parameshwara CM in case of leadership change, he said, "The Congress high command will have all the information. They will take information from the general secretary, and they also gather information in their own way."
"They know what has to be decided and when. Whether the leadership should be changed or not. All of this will be decided by them," he added.
Parameshwara, who had served as state Congress chief in the past, had himself last month said that he too was in the race to become the CM. Also, there has been demand for a "Dalit CM" within the Congress in case of leadership change, with Parameshwara as one of the prime contenders.
There have been speculations within the party circles too about Siddaramaiah's faction preferring Parameshwara or other senior leaders among them for the CM post, in case of any changes.
Asked about Congress MLA Iqbal Hussain's statement that there is a 200 per cent chance for Deputy CM D K Shivakumar to become the chief minister of the state on January 6 or 9, Parameshwara jokingly said, "Once Iqbal Hussain has said it is final. Whether I accept it or not is not the question."
ALSO READ: Congress and NCP (SP) to contest separately in Nagpur civic polls
Amid the leadership issue, Siddaramaiah, on December 19, had asserted on the floor of the Assembly that he would continue in office. He had also said that the Congress high command was in his favour and asserted that no decision was made on his staying at the helm for only two-and-a-half years.
Reacting to this, Shivakumar had said that he and CM Siddaramaiah have come to an agreement with the involvement of the Congress high command, and both of them will abide by it.
