JIT Formed to Probe Anti-State Social Media Campaigns

The federal government on July 27 formed a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to probe individuals allegedly creating “chaos and disorder” through malicious social media campaigns. The decision follows a directive from the Ministry of Interior and aimed to identify and prosecute individuals involved in these activities.
The JIT will be led by Islamabad Inspector General of Police (IGP) Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi and will include senior officials from the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) cybercrime and counter-terrorism wings, the Islamabad Deputy Inspector General of Police (Investigation), and the Counter-Terrorism Department. The team is authorized to co-opt additional members as necessary and will be supported by the Islamabad police headquarters.
The formation of the JIT follows the arrest of PTI Information Secretary Raoof Hasan, who was detained during a raid by the Islamabad police and the FIA at the PTI Central Office. Hasan, along with 11 others, has been charged under Sections 9 (glorification of an offence), 10 (cyberterrorism), and 11 (electronic forgery) of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016 (Peca). His physical remand, along with that of eight others, has been extended, while two women implicated in the case are under judicial custody.
The Ministry of Interior’s notification emphasized that the JIT is constituted under Section 30 of Peca, which grants the federal or provincial governments the authority to form such teams for investigating offences under the Act. The team’s mandate includes investigating the organized objectives of the accused and their accomplices, determining the extent of chaos and disorder caused, and prosecuting the culprits.