FAZAL SHER & NUZHAT NAZAR

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency’s cyber crime wing Monday summoned an active social media team member of ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to agency’s headquarters over his alleged involvement in vilification campaign against Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa and military on social media.

Sources said that Umair Talat alias Aadi, one of the favourite social media workers of Maryam Nawaz, has been summoned by the FIA from Gujranwala. They said that Maryam Nawaz has called several times to Talat to the Prime Minister’s House.

Several attempts were made through telephone and text massages to contact senior PML-N leaders including Daniyal Aziz but all in vain.

The sources further said that the FIA has identified some 33 individuals allegedly using social media to malign Chief of Army Staff and military. “Those identified were operating their accounts from Lahore, Quetta, Waziristan and Australia,” he said, adding that the people who were traced by the agency mostly used Twitter and Facebook accounts.

They said that the FIA on Saturday last summoned six persons for questioning regarding anti-military campaign. The FIA has not formally charged or made arrests of anyone under the charges of campaigning against armed forces and state institutions, they added.

They further said that 33 persons identified by the agency have affiliation with the PTI, PML-N and some other parties.

Following the directives of Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, the FIA has identified over 150 accounts and websites engaged in a campaign vilifying the armed forces on social media.

A vilification campaign against the COAS and the military on social media started after Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Asif Ghafoor’s stated to ‘withdraw’ his tweet on Dawn Leaks issue on May 10.

The interior minister on May 14 had directed the FIA to take action against those involved in an anti-armed forces campaign on social media. “Under constitutional guidelines on freedom of expression, unwarranted criticism of security forces and other institutions responsible for the defence of the realm is not allowed. No citizen can be involved in a campaign that tarnishes the reputation and respect of the armed forces,” said a statement issued by Ministry of Interior.”

The military sources said that Army has not requested either the government or FIA for any kind of crackdown on people who are spreading any kind of hatred against army on social media. In this regard, Army has not contacted the said investigation agency for taking action against persons using social media tools to spread hatred against it.