Campaign against martyrs of army: FIA says 178 social accounts displayed PTI flag, symbol

• According to FIA, investigation has entered in its final stages
• 18 Indian accounts were also involved in the hate campaign
• 178 accounts were found to have the PTI flag or symbol

After the tragic Lasbela helicopter crash — which claimed the lives of six soldiers of the Pakistan Army, there has been some progress in the investigation related to the social media smear campaign against the martyrs.

The Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) probe regarding the campaign against the martyrs of the Pakistan Army has entered its final stages and a total of 580 social media accounts were scrutinised during the process, according to the FIA document. Of the total, 178 accounts were found to have a PTI flag or other party symbol.

As per details stated in the document, 18 Indian accounts were also involved in the hate campaign. The number of identified accounts is 168 while the number of fake accounts is 238.

The FIA document further showed that 123 accounts have been handed over to NADRA, of them 33 accounts were being operated from other countries.

The document further stated that FIA identified 234 accounts, while six cases have been registered out of 12 inquiries in Gujranwala. Consequently, five persons have been arrested in connection with the hate campaign against the army.

Moreover, among seven inquiries carried out in Faisalabad, four cases have been registered and four persons have been arrested. While in seven Lahore-based inquiries, two cases have been registered and two persons were arrested. Meanwhile, four notices were issued.

On August 2, a Pakistan Army helicopter went missing in Lasbela, Balochistan, during the relief operation in the flood-affected areas, while debris of the chopper was later found in the Moosa Goth area.

After the helicopter crash, a negative campaign was launched on social media, which was strongly condemned by the Pakistan Army, following which the government decided to take action against the culprits and established an investigation team consisting of FIA and ISI officers.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) had said that the helicopter accident happened due to bad weather which claimed the lives of six soldiers, including Corps Commander Quetta Lieutenant General Sarfraz Ali and DG Pakistan Coast Guard Major General Amjad.