Contents of FIR against PTI activists come to light

ISLAMABAD: The Cybercrime Circle of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) have launched an investigation into activities of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI).

An official involved in investigation told this reporter that according to the FIR the accused, Ahmed Waqas, along with the PTI leadership and media cell members, was using the social media to undermine the country’s integrity and peace. According to the FIR, Ahmed Waqas collaborated with the internal and external forces and employed various social media strategies to destabilise the country’s freedom, integrity, and sovereignty.

A dedicated cell, led by Raoof Hassan, operates in the PTI Secretariat. This cell receives daily instructions from Raoof and runs coordinated social media campaigns, both domestically and internationally. The campaigns aim to incite the public against the state and armed forces, creating unrest in the country.

Fake social media accounts are created to propagate these narratives, fostering an environment of rebellion.

The campaigns also exploit ethnic and religious divides to incite sectarian conflicts. Through fake social media accounts, they construct narratives that blame the government and law-enforcement agencies for all acts of terrorism, including the incidents where the civilians and military personnel are martyred.

The objective is to instill in the people’s minds that the government’s policies and actions of the armed forces and law enforcement agencies are responsible for the unrest and terrorist activities in Pakistan.

The overall goal of these online campaigns is to incite the public to rise against the institutions, government, and state, creating an atmosphere of rebellion.

The FIA has arrested 12 individuals, including two women, under Sections 9, 10, and 11 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016. The arrested include Ahmed Waqas, resident of Rawalpindi, Raoof Hassan, resident of Sector F-7/2, Islamabad, Afaq Ahmed Alvi, resident of Islamabad, Hameed Ullah, resident of Islamabad, Rashid Mahmood, resident of Rawalpindi, Zeeshan Farooq, resident of Rawalpindi, Syed Osama Wajid of Rawalpindi, Muhammad Rizwan Afzal, resident of Toba Tek Singh, Muhammad Rafiq, resident of Pishin, Syed Hamza, resident of Islamabad, Ms. Farhat Khalid, wife of Khalid Basra, resident of Daska, Sialkot, and Iqra Ilyas, daughter of Muhammad Ilyas, resident of Islamabad.

Naveed Anjum Advocate highlighted the sensitivity of offenses under PECA 2016.

He explained that Section 9 of the Act pertained to the glorification of an offense, stating that anyone preparing or disseminating information to glorify an offense related to terrorism or any convicted terrorist, or the activities of proscribed organizations, could be punished with imprisonment for up to seven years or fined up to Rs10 million, or both.