ISLAMABAD – The interim government on Tuesday established a six-member joint investigation team (JIT) to “uncover the facts surrounding a malicious social media campaign” targeting Supreme Court judges.
As per a notification issued by the interior ministry, the committee was constituted under Section 30 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016.
The JIT will be led by the additional director-general of the Federal Investigation Agency’s Cyber Crime Wing and includes representatives from the Intelligence Bureau, Inter-Services Intelligence, the deputy inspector-general of Islamabad police, a representative of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, and any other co-opted member.
“The JIT shall submit a preliminary report to the Ministry of Interior within a fortnight,” the notification stated, with additional support provided by the FIA headquarters during the investigation.
The authorities did not specify any particular social media posts considered part of the alleged campaign.
The notification outlined that the JIT’s terms of reference are to “determine the facts behind a malicious social media campaign attempting to tarnish the image of the honorable judges of the Supreme Court.”
The committee is tasked with identifying and prosecuting the perpetrators in accordance with relevant laws, submitting charges in appropriate courts, and proposing measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Following extensive hearings last week, a three-member bench of the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa, upheld the Election Commission of Pakistan’s decision to nullify the PTI’s electoral symbol ‘bat’ and deemed its intra-party polls as “unconstitutional.”
The verdict faced criticism from legal experts and political analysts, with the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan expressing concern over the judgement.
