Violent protests followed the arrest of Imran Khan in a corruption case on 9 May. (file)
Islamabad:
The Pakistan government has shared the social media profiles of former prime minister Imran Khan and several other leaders of his party with the federal probe agency to conduct forensic tests for allegedly sharing controversial anti-state content between March 8 and May 9. Can go said on Thursday.
Samaa TV, citing police details, reported that a total of 23 links from Instagram, Facebook and Twitter of leaders of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party have been sent to the FIA.
The FIA is Pakistan’s lead agency at the national level for investigating federal crimes.
Police said the links shared are based on videos and posts of PTI leaders Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Murad Saeed and Hammad Azhar and statements of political leaders will also be part of the final report of the Joint Investigation Team on the May 9 violence cases. The report said.
A forensic test is being conducted on the video and post on the allegedly anti-state statements contained in the shared link.
“The forensic report of the link will be made a part of the investigation report. Youth were instigated against the state through the use of social media,” the report said.
Violent protests broke out in Islamabad on May 9 following the arrest of 70-year-old Mr Khan in a corruption case by paramilitary Rangers. He was later released on bail.
Activists of his party PTI vandalized more than 20 military installations and government buildings, including the Lahore Corps Commander House, the Mianwali Airbase and the ISI building in Faisalabad. The army headquarters in Rawalpindi was also attacked by the mob for the first time.
The federal cabinet has decided that protesters who vandalized military installations on May 9 will be prosecuted under the stringent Army Act and the Official Secrets Act.
PTI Chairman Mr. Khan has been speaking out against the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz)-led coalition government since he was ousted last year by a no-confidence motion in Parliament.
The violence drew a strong response from the government and the military, with a pledge to act against the guilty, which continued to crack down on those involved.
Law enforcement agencies have arrested more than 10,000 activists of Mr. Khan’s Pakistan Party across Pakistan, 4,000 of them from Punjab province.
The Punjab Home Department has constituted 10 separate Joint Investigation Teams to probe the attacks and violent protests that took place on 9 May, which was termed as “Black Day” by the Pakistan Army.
Mr Khan is facing over 100 cases across the country.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)