KARACHI: Twelve more police constables including three women in the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi have been suspended for posting “inappropriate” viral videos on social media, police said on Friday, days after the suspension of their seven colleagues for the same reason.
On Tuesday, a female cop, Maria Gill, was suspended after posting a TikTok video in which she could be seen inviting viewers to meet her at a location where she and her colleagues had been deployed on duty. She was suspended for “unnecessarily endangering the privacy and lives” of her teammates.
On Thursday, Karachi police said six police constables, including two women, had been suspended over videos posted on different social media platforms, calling on them to “report to their respective Zonal Headquarters, where they will be attending daily roll call and parade.”
“On the orders of Sindh Inspector General Ghulam Nabi Memon, Additional IG Karachi suspended 12 more TikTokers,” the Karachi police said in a post on social media site X.
The suspended police personnel included Majid Ali, Kamran Ghulab, Noman Khan, Noman, Waqas, Muhammad Sohail, Irfan Shahbaz, Ahmed Ali, Huzaifa, Sonia, Mehak Khan and Woronika. They were also directed to report to the Zonal Headquarters to face departmental action.
This is not the first time police employees in Pakistan have faced disciplinary action for social media activity deemed inappropriate by high-ups.
In August 2024, Lady Constable Maryam Bhatti was dismissed from Rawalpindi police for similar reasons.
On July 31, 2024, Constable Muqaddas from Islamabad was dismissed from the Federal Police’s Counter-Terrorism Department for making a TikTok video while using an official vehicle.
On July 29, 2024, Assistant Sub-Inspector Inayatullah Niazi was suspended in Chiniot for allowing a transgender person to film a video in the SHO’s office, which was deemed “disrespectful” to the police uniform.
On February 27, 2024, Constable Bahawal Sher was suspended in Faisalabad for sharing a video on social media where he was seen smoking while in uniform and displaying pistols.
Lady Constable Sumbul from Sindh faced an investigation on October 14, 2023, for posting a controversial video supporting Israel while Lady Constable Mehwish Khan was suspended on May 16, 2022, in Muzaffargarh for uploading videos in police uniform.
On July 24, 2020, Constable Wafa Tauqeer was also suspended in Lahore after a TikTok video of her in uniform went viral.