KARACHI: As Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif asked politicians and national institutions to serve the country “unitedly while observing their constitutional limits”, Chief of Army Staff Gen Asim Munir on Wednesday said it was the state’s responsibility to protect the public from the negative impacts of social media.

The two were speaking at the National Youth Convention, which was attended by federal ministers, HEC officials and teachers, vice-chancellors and students from leading universities across Pakistan, Dawn.com reported.

In his remarks, the army chief said: “It is the responsibility of the state to keep the public away from the implications of social media-induced hysteria and fitna.”

This was the latest in a long line of warnings from the army chief and the military about the dangers posed by social media.

PM Shehbaz urges politicians, institutions to ‘remain within constitutional limits’

The military has recently taken a harsh line against criticism online, with Gen Munir himself warning that it was being used as a tool to spread anarchy and false information targeting the armed forces. The term ‘digital terrorism’ is being increasingly used to describe the use of online spaces by the army’s critics, whom it accuses of spreading falsehoods.

In his remarks, the army chief said that only a strong relationship between the people, the government and the army guaranteed the country’s security and development.

“Those who were creating the narrative of Pakistan’s default, where are they today?” the army chief asked.

He said the youth were the country’s “biggest and most valuable asset” and would not be allowed to “go to waste under any circumstances”.

Questioned about last month’s spate of tribal violence in Parachinar that left 49 dead, the army chief said the tribes should sit together and help end the various disputes between them.

“The people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa stood like an iron wall against terrorism along with the Pakistan Army for 22 years. I believe that God will grant us victory against terrorism,” the COAS said.

‘Observe constitutional limits’

“Today’s Pakistan and its prevailing circumstances necessitate politicians and national institutions to serve the country unitedly while observing their constitutional limits. If we do so, history will remember us forever, otherwise future generations will never forgive us,” the Associated Press of Pakistan quoted PM Shehbaz as saying.

In his remarks, the premier called the 1973 Constitution a binding force for the nation.

The nation also showed unity when the country carried out the nuclear tests in 1998 to make its defence impregnable, setting aside the serious challenges, he said.

Pakistan had sacrificed thousands of lives in its fight against terrorism besides suffering an economic loss of $150 billion. Not just Pakistan, the whole world has benefited from the elimination of terrorism by Pakistan, he added.

Referring to current economic challenges, the prime minister said the government was compelled to privatise PIA, which once used to be a model for other airlines in the region. Similarly, South Korea replicated Pakistan’s five-year development plan and boosted its economy while Pakistan still lagged behind.

“We have to decide whether business will go [on] as usual or we will move forward,” he remarked.

He assured that despite the challenges of electricity, revenue receipts and exports, the government would dole out maximum funds for youth empowerment and recalled the PML-government’s pro-youth steps in the past including the merit-based distribution of laptops, establishment of the Punjab Education Endowment Fund to distribute scholarships worth Rs22 billion, and numerous schemes for skill development.

Urging the youth to go into the SME sector, he said the State Bank of Pakistan has been asked to instruct the commercial banks to allocate 40pc of their loans for the sector.

Published in Dawn, August 22nd, 2024