Social media: AGP seeks action against offenders
Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) on Wednesday asked secretaries for Interior Division and Information Technology to take a firm action against those who are hurling slanderous allegations at Chief Justice-designate Justice Mian Saqib Nisar on social media.
Calling attention of both the secretaries towards the matter through a letter, the AGP said that some Pakistani internet users have circulated various images of President Mamnoon Hussain, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Iqbal Zafar Jhagra.
“Contrary to the reality of the image, the same is being circulated by certain user accounts on social media as purportedly showing the President Hussain, Prime Minister Sharif and Chief Justice-designate, Justice Mian Saqib Nisar,” The AGP said. He added that the image is also being captioned with incorrect, misleading and slanderous allegations with respect to Justice Mian Saqib Nisar’s professional capabilities.
The AGP said that sharing of the image under the aforementioned incorrect pretence constitutes an act of misrepresentation, slander and defamation.
He said the act is punishable by law, adding that sharing of the image under such pretences also constitutes an attack on the honourable superior judiciary of Pakistan, which adds to the gravity of the aforementioned criminal acts. “This trend needs to be checked,” the AGP asked both the secretaries.
Sending a letter to both the secretaries, the AGP said, “The initiation of criminal action is advised against individual users and group accounts on social medial, and against websites, sharing the image under the aforementioned, or any other incorrect pretences, allegations, misrepresentations of defamatory claims against the honourable Chief Justice-designate of Pakistan. A criminal action may be initiated under Chapter XXI of the Pakistan Penal Code (Act XLV of 1960), the Defamation Ordinance, 2002, Section 198 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898 and Section 11 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2015.”
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