PTI supporter jailed for tweeting against Pakistan Army

A district and sessions court in Faisalabad has sentenced a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporter to three years in prison for defaming the Pakistan Army by running a “highly obnoxious and intimidating campaign” against the senior military leadership on Twitter.

Sikandar Zaman, 30, was apprehended last year by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) after a complaint against him was lodged under sections 20 (Malicious code) and 24(c) (Legal recognition of offences committed in relation to information system) of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016.

It also invoked sections 500 (Punishment for defamation) and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) of the Pakistan Penal Code, reports Dawn.

His account had 184 followers, according to the Pak Lawyers Forum.

Zaman’s mobile phone and Twitter account were also seized by the police.

According to the first information report (FIR), as mentioned in the verdict, Zaman posted a tweet against the Pakistan Army “relating to the helicopter incident” last year with the intent to “spread panic” in society.

In August 2022, six army officers and soldiers embraced martyrdom after their chopper crashed in Balochistan’s Lasbela district. In the wake of the crash, a social media campaign emerged, which was condemned by the army as “insensitive”. The FIA had then begun tracing the culprits behind the campaign.

After Zaman’s arrest, the PTI supporter was presented before the court and a trial began. On February 8, the trial concluded and a subsequent order was announced by Additional Sessions Judge Munsif Khan.

The judgment, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, stated that the accused did not deny that the said Twitter account belonged to him.

“From the recovered mobile phone, a number of similar types of saved data were recovered from the memory of the mobile phone during forensic analysis, consisting of 1-29 pages. Although these 29 pages do not contain the alleged comments, it was explained by the technical staff of FIA that a forensic report of mobile phone has been prepared in the light of the scope provided by the IO (Investigating officer) and as per this scope, forensics was to be conducted regarding posts against the army.”

The court said that the timing of Zaman’s tweet was “relevant as the same has been commented on during the present political crisis of the country”.