The federal government has established a Joint Investigation Committee (JIT) to investigate individuals allegedly creating “chaos and disorder” in the country through “malicious social media campaigns,” as announced on Saturday.
This development follows the interior ministry’s recent announcement of forming a JIT to probe suspicions of PTI’s alleged involvement in “anti-state propaganda,” though the notification does not specifically mention the party.
Raoof Hasan, PTI’s information secretary, was arrested on Monday during a raid by Islamabad police and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) at the party’s Central Office. The FIA’s cybercrime wing subsequently charged Hasan and 11 others under Sections 9 (glorification of an offence), 10 (cyberterrorism), and 11 (electronic forgery) of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016 (PECA).
On Thursday, Hasan and eight others had their physical remand extended until the following day, while two women involved in the case were placed in judicial custody.
PTI MNA Gohar Khan suggested the action against his party was linked to the Supreme Court’s decision in the reserved seats case, positioning PTI as the largest party in the National Assembly.
According to a notification issued on Friday, the interior ministry formed the JIT under Section 30 (warrant for search or seizure) of PECA. Islamabad Inspector General of Police (IGP) Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi will lead the JIT, which includes the FIA’s cybercrime director, FIA’s Counter Terrorism Wing director, Islamabad Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police (Investigation), and the Counter-Terrorism Department’s Senior Superintendent of Police.
The notification stated that additional members could be co-opted into the JIT. The committee is tasked with “investigating and determining the organised objectives of the accused and their accomplices who have created chaos and disorder in Pakistan through malicious social media campaigns.” It will identify and prosecute the culprits according to applicable laws, with secretarial support provided by the Islamabad police headquarters.
Under Section 30 of PECA, a court may issue a warrant authorizing an FIA officer to search and seize information systems, data, devices, or storage media relevant to the offense if reasonable grounds exist to believe they may contain evidence material for a criminal investigation or proceedings.
In urgent circumstances involving an offense under Section 10, a Gazetted officer of the investigation agency may conduct a search and seizure without a warrant, provided they notify a court within 24 hours. The court may then issue orders as deemed appropriate.
