Campaign against army martyrs: FIA says 178 social accounts displayed PTI flag, symbols

ISLAMABAD: After the tragic Lasbela helicopter crash, which claimed the lives of six soldiers, there has been some progress in the investigation related to the social media smear campaign against the martyrs, according to Geo News.

The Federal Investigation Agency’s probe into the campaign against martyrs has entered the final stage and a total of 580 social media accounts were scrutinised during the process, according to the document.

Of total, 178 accounts were found to have a PTI flag or other party symbols. As per details stated in the document, 18 Indian accounts were also involved in the hate campaign. The number of identified accounts is 168, while the fake accounts are 238.

The FIA document further showed that 123 accounts have been handed over to NADRA, of them 33 accounts were being operated from other countries. It further stated that the FIA identified 234 accounts, while six cases have been registered out of 12 inquiries in Gujranwala.

Consequently, five persons have also been arrested in connection with the hate campaign against the army. Moreover, among the seven inquiries carried out in Faisalabad, four cases have been registered and four persons have been arrested. While in seven other Lahore-based inquiries, two cases have been registered and two persons were arrested and four notices were issued.

On August 2, an army helicopter went missing in Lasbela, Balochistan, during the relief operation in the flooded areas, while debris of the chopper was later found in the Moosa Goth area.

After the helicopter crash, a negative campaign was launched on social media, which was strongly condemned by the army, following which the government decided to take action against the culprits and established an investigation team consisting of the FIA and ISI officers.

The Inter-Services Public Relations had said the helicopter accident happened due to bad weather, which claimed the lives of the six, including Corps Commander Quetta Lieutenant General Sarfraz Ali and DG Pakistan Coast Guard Major General Amjad.