The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has directed the registrar’s office to approach the chief legal counsel of X Corporation to trace the individuals responsible for running a smear campaign against Justice Babar Sattar on social media. This directive is part of the court’s ongoing efforts to address the misuse of social media platforms for defamation and malicious attacks against members of the judiciary.
A three-member larger bench, consisting of Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, and Justice Sardar Ishaq Khan, issued a written order regarding the contempt of court case centered on the social media defamation campaign targeting Justice Babar Sattar and his family. The court has called for an emergency disclosure request to be sent by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to X Corporation to identify suspicious accounts linked to the campaign.
The social media accounts, the IHC has instructed the FIA to conduct a forensic investigation into the leak of passport and travel document details of Justice Sattar and his family from the passport office’s database server. This investigation aims to address concerns about data security and prevent future breaches.
Various government agencies, including the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), Intelligence Bureau (IB), Directorate General of Immigration, Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD), Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), have submitted their reports to the court. The IHC has ordered the experts who prepared these reports to present concise summaries at the next hearing, providing the court with a clearer understanding of the situation.
The FIA Cyber Crime Wing’s report identified several accounts that were involved in tweeting and retweeting posts as part of the organized smear campaign against Justice Sattar. The report noted that the campaign was structured around three specific hashtags. The court has directed the Supreme Court’s registrar office to draft a letter for the chief legal counsel of X Corporation and present it to the bench members in chambers.
The court expressed dissatisfaction with the report submitted by the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), labeling it as “insufficient.” The ISI report indicated that no significant progress could be made due to the dormant status of the accounts involved. The court questioned whether the ISI would maintain the same stance if blasphemy allegations were leveled against high-profile figures such as the president or the army chief. The court also raised concerns about the ISI’s capability to handle fifth-generation warfare, emphasizing the need for more effective responses to such threats.
IHC Orders X Corp to Trace Justice Sattar Smear Campaign Culprits
