On Friday (3 December), the official Twitter account of Pakistan’s embassy in Serbia criticized Prime Minister Imran Khan, citing growing prices and alleged three-month salary non-payment. The Foreign Office published a statement two hours later, claiming that the embassy’s social media accounts had been hacked.
The tweets were later removed.
The Foreign Office spokesperson tweeted, “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.”
The hacked account 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 nonpayment of fees. Is this #NayaPakistan ?”
Along with the text criticizing the premiere, the tweet featured a parody song with the catchphrase “Ghabrana nahi hai” (we don’t have to worry).
The account followed up with another tweet, which read, “I am sorry @ImranKhanPTI, am not left with another option.”
The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics issued figures earlier this week showing that inflation increased to 11.5 percent from 9.2 percent, the largest increase in the preceding 20 months, owing to a record spike in fuel costs in October.
The massive depreciation of the rupee fueled import-led inflation. Inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), rose to its highest level in 20 months, during which time global oil prices continued to rise steadily, undermining earlier gains.
At the same time, fresh vegetable, fruit, and meat costs have been steadily rising in both urban and rural areas.
Inflation climbed to 9.32 percent on an annual basis between July and November.
