Over 500 social media accounts involved in campaigns against the judiciary have been identified, the caretaker government said Monday.
The statement was made at a press conference held today in Islamabad. It was attended by interim Minister for Information Murtaza Solangi, Federal Investigation Agency (FIA)’s Director Operations Waqaruddin Syed, and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA)’s Director-General Ahmed Shamim Pirzada.
The conference primarily focused on the findings of the joint investigation team (JIT), which was formed this month to investigate the “malicious social media campaign” against the Supreme Court judges.
نگران وفاقی وزیر اطلاعات مرتضی سولنگی کی پی ٹی اے اور ایف آئی اے حکام کے ہمراہ نیوز کا نفرنس @murtazasolangi https://t.co/uXIU6ZJsSG
— PTV News (@PTVNewsOfficial) January 22, 2024
The team was constituted under Section 30 (power and procedure to investigate) of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 — more commonly known as PECA. It was formed after the SC’s verdict regarding the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)’s electoral symbol (bat), which was taken from the party on January 13, 2024. Following the court’s decision, a smear campaign was launched online against the SC judges, according to the statement.
The information minister said that action will be taken against online accounts that were found to be involved in “anti-judicial” campaigns. He added the accounts are being operated both within Pakistan and abroad, and that the government is monitoring them.
The officials warned the actors spreading “lies” of strict legal action. They advised social media users to deal with online content responsibly in the wake of the general elections, as there would be a rise in false information.
