The Balochistan government is reportedly spending PKR 5.5 million per month on “social media employees” tasked with promoting its activities and countering dissent, according to documents shared online.
The documents, allegedly from the Chief Minister’s Secretariat, detail payments to individuals identified as “social media employees” for propagating government schemes and monitoring online narratives.
Critics claim these employees are engaged in spreading misinformation targeting Baloch activists and families of forcibly disappeared persons.
Norway-based journalist Kiyya Baloch criticized the reported expenditures, accusing the Balochistan government of prioritizing propaganda over addressing critical regional issues.
“The Sarfaraz Bugti-led government is paying individuals to make baseless accusations against peaceful Baloch rights activists and the families of missing persons,” Kiyya Baloch wrote in a post on X.
He further alleged that those aligning with pro-state narratives benefit from impunity for illegal activities. “Raise the slogan ‘Long live Pakistan,’ say ‘Long live the Pakistan Army,’ and you can smuggle drugs or run a private militia,” he said, adding that individuals unwilling to use their real identities are encouraged to create anonymous accounts to support the government’s agenda.
Baloch activist Sabiha Baloch also condemned the alleged spending, accusing the government of using public funds to mask the exploitation of Balochistan’s resources. “The colonizer extracts trillions of wealth from our land, perpetuating looting and genocide without resistance,” she said. “To conceal its crimes, it spends millions on propaganda.”
The government of Balochistan has not responded to the allegations.