Iftikhar Khan

PESHAWAR: Few days ago, a video of three persons in Bannu went viral in which they were singing a poem which stated that coronavirus was nothing but a deception and people must not pay heed to this ‘conspiracy’.

However, things dramatically changed within a day when local police arrested the three persons and a new video of them surfaced in which they said they regret their earlier video and apologise for their behaviour. When the video of apology went viral, people said in a lighter mode that ‘their software has been updated’.

After the Bannu incident, a video of a youth in North Waziristan, Zakir, went viral in which he stated that he will not abide by Section 144 and coronavirus has nothing to do with reality.

Similarly, famous anchor Yousaf Jan had also shared a detailed programme in this regard on his Facebook and Youtube pages, which drew criticism from social circles which believed that such programmes damage the government steps against coronavirus.

The apology videos of Zakir and Yousaf Jan have also arrived and, according to social media users, their ‘software have also been updated’.

Javed Khan, Legal Assistant at the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), said police can only act against those impeding the government work if the deputy commissioner imposed Section 144 regarding ban on such activities. He said police can arrest the violators under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) and the deputy commissioner is empowered to give one year jail to such persons. He said that in case of propaganda, police first tries to know whether the person is intentionally misleading the masses or he himself is being misled.

The FIA officer said if the accused is spreading disinformation then the deputy commissioner sends him to jail and if he is doing it unknowingly then police forces him to change his stance.

The officer who arrested the youth from North Waziristan said he was arrested for just two hours and he was told about consequences of his act after which he accepted his fault and made another video to correct his mistake. Police officer in Miranshah, Muhammad Ibrahim said there was no formal written complaint against Zakir and police acted against him on its own. He said the video of Zakir was seen by over 150,000 people within two days which was damaging for the national cause.

The three persons from Bannu were formally booked, but they were also released after spending just one night in lock up after they apologised and vowed to cooperate with the administration. Source said the police had to adopt stricter attitude towards the Bannu men to change their stance.

About Yousaf Jan, sources said he realised soon after his programme after reaction of people that he has committed a mistake. He was called to the office of the law enforcing agency by an officer and he was told about the negative impact of his act. He apologised for his programme in a video message and said he did it unknowingly. He made his next programme urging the people to adopt precautionary measures and cooperate with the government to avoid the spread of coronavirus.