QUETTA: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has taken into custody a member of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s social media team under the cyber- crime law.
Salar Khan was detained when he showed up before the FIA’s investigating officer in the wake of a call-up notice, said Qasim Khan, the party’s central core committee member, who accompanied him to the FIA office in Balochistan.
He said the FIA‘s counter terrorism wing had issued a call-up notice to the detainee seeking his appearance before an investigating officer along with his laptop and mobile phone for questioning.
“Non-compliance of this order is punishable under law. Therefore, your willful non-obedience of the order will render you liable for criminal proceedings under Section 174 of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC),” warned the notice, undersigned by Nauman Ashraf Bodia, the FIA Counter Terrorism Wing’s deputy director.
Slamming the FIA’s action, PTI chairman Imran Khan accused the federal government of using the cyber-crime law to persecute political activists. He tweeted, “Government abusing cybercrime law to politically victimize PTI social media activists by threatening/ arresting them. Unacceptable in a democracy.”
Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan had earlier this week had ordered the FIA’s cyber-crime wing to take action against those involved in using social media for slanderous and negative propaganda to tarnish the reputation and respect of the armed forces and other constitutional institutions.
