LAHORE - The Chief of Punjab’s Books and Curriculum Regulatory Authority on Sunday denied allegations of inappropriate online activity, claiming that he was a victim of “a social media hack”.

Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board (PCTB) Managing Director Rai Manzoor Hussain Nasir issued a statement through his Twitter account in which he said that his character assassination was being committed because of his decision of banning books and that he had fired at least 10 employees, he claimed were involved in “corruption” and “security breaches on my personal Twitter account”.

Nasir said he was “accused of liking an immoral picture on Twitter and also of making inappropriate comments on photographs” after he banned at least 100 books on July 23. “I deny these allegations emphatically and maintain that I have been the victim of a social media hack. I am making every effort to secure my social media accounts going forward,” he added.

“The 100 books that have been banned contain blasphemous, objectionable content that is anti-Pakistan,” Nasir said, adding that the publishers of the said books had not obtained the required No Objection Certificate (NOC).

Terming the questionable activity on his Twitter account as an “obvious attempt at character assassination”, he said he would continue leading the PCTB responsibly.

“The affected book publishers have the right to rectify the errors in the banned books and resubmit them to the PCTB in order to apply for a NOC if they wish to publish these books in the country.

“I have worked tirelessly as a civil servant for 27 years and remain committed to high moral standards as demonstrated through my track record in government,” he added further. In another tweet prior to that, he had issued similar comments, claiming he was subjected to a “character assassination” which was done “in response to” his decision to ban the 100 books.

“Respect is given by God and no immoral person can snatch it away,” he had added then.