Islamabad: A district and sessions court in Faisalabad has sentenced a 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, media reports said.
Sikandar Zaman, 30, was apprehended last year by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) after a complaint against him was lodged under different sections of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016, and the Pakistan Penal Code, Dawn reported.
His Twitter account had 184 followers, according to the Pakistan Lawyers Forum, the report said.
Zaman’s mobile phone and Twitter account were also seized by the police.
According to the 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, Dawn reported.
In August 2022, six army officers and soldiers were killed after their chopper crashed in Balochistan’s Lasbela district. In the wake of the crash, a social media campaign surfaced, 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 stated that the accused did not deny that the said Twitter account belonged to him, Dawn reported.
–IANS