LAHORE: The Federal Inves­tigation Agency (FIA) has initiated action against over 150 individuals — including journalists, vloggers and anchorperson Harmeet Singh — for allegedly promoting a false narrative against state institutions, particularly the security agencies, over the Nov 26 crackdown on PTI supporters in Islamabad.

The FIA Cybercrime Wing has so far arrested over 20 social media activists across the country for controversial posts about alleged deaths during the crackdown.

PTI had claimed that 12 of its supporters were killed by law enforcement agencies during the party’s protest at D-Chowk, an allegation the government has denied.

The arrests come after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced the formation of a joint task force to track down those responsible for spreading what officials called “fake news” about the protest deaths.

“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,” an FIA official told Dawn on Friday.

He said the suspects had been booked under Sections 9, 10, 11 and 24 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca).

According to the FIR, Mr Singh allegedly propagated a false narrative about the events from Nov 24 to 27, inciting violence against state institutions.

Similar charges have been brought 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, mostly from PTI, for allegedly inciting people against state institutions on social media platforms on the party workers’ deaths.

An FIA spokesperson did not respond to Dawn’s request for comment.

The government has denied claims that law enforcement personnel opened fire on PTI protesters and has vowed strict action against those spreading misinformation on social media platforms.

However, the human rights organisation Amnesty Interna­tional has demanded a transparent investigation of the state’s “deadly crackdown” to disperse PTI supporters from Islamabad’s D-Chowk, where they had gathered for the release of their incarcerated leader and former prime minister Imran Khan.

The PTI protesters marched to Islamabad on Nov 26, defying a ban on public gatherings and a lockdown, and clashed with security forces.

As the marchers inched towards the heavily barricaded D-Chowk, the police and security forces reportedly employed intense teargas shelling to disperse them.

The PTI has harshly criticised Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi for his statements and blamed him for the alleged violence against its supporters, claiming multiple deaths.

Condemning the violence, Amnesty 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.”

Published in Dawn, December 14th, 2024