Islamabad [Pakistan], December 14 : The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has initiated action against more than 150 individuals, including journalists, vloggers and anchorperson Harmeet Singh for allegedly promoting a false narrative against state institutions, especially the security agencies, over the crackdown conducted on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters in Islamabad on November 26, Dawn reported.
So far, the FIA Cybercrime Wing has arrested more than 20 social media activists in Pakistan for controversial posts about alleged deaths during the crackdown on PTI protesters. Imran Khan's party has claimed that 12 of the PTI supporters were killed by law enforcement agencies during the party's protest at D-Chowk. The federal government has denied the allegations made by PTI.
The arrests have been made after Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced the establishment of a joint task force to track down those responsible for spreading what officials termed "fake news" regarding the protest deaths, according to Dawn report.
Speaking to Dawn, an FIA official said, "The FIA has registered a case against dozens of suspects, including journalists and vloggers, for their involvement in maligning security agencies over the Nov 26 incident. Harmeet Singh, a Sikh journalist, is also among them."
The official stated that the suspects had been booked under Sections 9, 10, 11 and 24 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca). Singh allegedly disseminated a false narrative regarding the events from November 24-27, spreading violence against state institutions, as per the FIR. Similar charges have been made against several other journalists and vloggers, including Ahmad Noorani, Imran Khatana, Rizwan Ahmad Khan, Salman Durani, Hussain Rafique, Ahmad Malik, Azhar Tariq Khan, Asif Bashir, Saraj Ahmad, Muhammad Arshad, Abdul Qadir, Aroosa Nadim, Komal Afridi and Maryam Shafqat Malik.
Earlier this week, the FIA reportedly booked 150 suspects and arrested over 20 of them, majority from PTI, for allegedly inciting people against state institutions on social media platforms on the party workers' deaths, Dawn reported.
The government has rejected claims that law enforcement personnel opened fire on PTI protesters and has committed to take strict action against those spreading misinformation on social media platforms. The human rights organisation Amnesty International has called for a transparent probe of the state's "deadly crackdown" to disperse PTI supporters from Islamabad's D-Chowk, where they had gathered for the release of PTI founder Imran Khan.
The PTI protesters marched to Islamabad on November 26, defying a ban on public gatherings and a lockdown, and clashes erupted between the protests and security forces. As the marchers reached closer to the heavily barricaded D-Chowk, the police and security forces reportedly used intense teargas shelling to disperse them, according to Dawn report. The PTI has slammed Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi for his statements and blamed him for the alleged violence against its supporters, claiming multiple deaths.
In a statement, Amnesty International said, "Yet again, protesters in Pakistan have faced a brutal and lethal crackdown shrouded in a callous opacity by the authorities."Urgent and transparent investigation is needed into the deadly crackdown on protesters. We demand a prompt, thorough, impartial, effective and transparent investigation into the deaths and injuries of protesters."
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