ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) was told on Tuesday that the social media campaign against Justice Babar Sattar started on April 22, with 45 accounts on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube running the campaign.
The court was informed that out of the 39 X accounts used in the campaign, 29 were found to be fake, while the remaining 10 have been identified. The court was informed that five accounts that were running different hashtags have also been identified.
The court directed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to record the statements of those being identified, and conduct an inquiry and proceed with the investigation based on the digital evidence. It said it would issue a written order in this regard.
A three-member larger bench of the IHC comprising Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri and Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan heard the contempt-of-court case with regard to Justice Sattar and his family’s data leak case.
Additional Attorney General Munawar Iqbal Duggal told the court that the ISI’s response is ready, and would be submitted during the course of the day.
Duggal said that a three-member FIA committee has been constituted. He said that 51,000 accounts have been logged during the past three months, and half of them have been checked.
Justice Khan asked why they started three months ago. Justice Kayani asked who heads the committee. Duggal said the FIA additional director heads the committee.
The court asked what the response of X Corp was. Duggal said X has asked to contact the US Embassy, and has not responded to the high court.
During the hearing, the report prepared by the FIA Cyber Crime Wing was submitted to the court. Duggal told the court that the FIA’s Immigration Wing would conduct an inquiry into the matter, and that the FIA does not have complete access to the data.
He said the major problem for the investigators is that people are operating social media accounts from outside the country. He said that when something from abroad is posted, they do not have access to their IP address. The hashtag used against Justice Sattar was also mentioned in the FIA report.
The court directed the Cyber Crime Wing to contact the US Embassy. Duggal said the embassy can be contacted through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA). The court ordered that the embassy be contacted through the appropriate process.
Duggal said he knows the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has spoken to many social media companies but no action has been taken, so the issue is still there. He said various organisations are being targeted but access to these accounts are not being provided by these companies.
Justice Kayani said there are no offices of social media companies in Pakistan, and there are parameters of cybercrime agencies of other countries. Duggal said no company is willing to open its office in Pakistan.
He said the government and the PTA had held talks with social media companies but no solution came out of it, and people know who is doing what. He also said the government had asked the platforms to delete accounts but they had a policy against it.
On a query by Justice Kayani, Duggal said these companies have not set up offices in Pakistan despite being asked to do so. Justice Kayani said that this is happening because of the lack of legislation by our government.
The court said they have their own policies regarding cyber security laws, and asked if these companies have been contacted by Pakistan. If they make laws after consultation with these companies, they will set up offices here, the bench pointed out.
The FIA Cyber Crime Wing director said that five X accounts running different hashtags have been identified, adding that one was started from the account of Khawaja Mohammad Yasin, a resident of Azad Kashmir, but he did not join the inquiry.
The court said the person is sitting in the Neelum Valley, so what his objection against Justice Sattar is. FIA officials said Syed Faizan Rafi, a Karachi resident, started another hashtag, and in response to the notice sent to him, he said he was now abroad.
The FIA said that re-summoning notices were issued on June 29. The statement of account holder Ismail sent to the FIA was also read in court. IHC Assistant Registrar Irfan Khan has written to the chief legal counsel of X Corp through MoFA regarding the leak of the personal data of Justice Sattar and his family, asking them to provide the relevant information to Pakistan’s investigation agencies. The letter said that it would be appreciated if X were to send their representative to the IHC, adding that the personal data of IHC judge Justice Sattar and his family was leaked on X, whose administration should assist in identifying the account that leaked it. The registrar asked X Corp to inform them if there is an organised campaign, then also assist with their links. The letter also referred to the company’s earlier assistance to the UK and Indian governments.