Pakistan: Journalists among 4 booked for 'inciting attacks' on military installations

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The Islamabad police on Monday booked journalists Shaheen Sehbai and Wajahat Saeed Khan, an army officer turned YouTuber Adil Raja, and anchorperson Syed Haider Raza Mehdi, for "abetting mutiny" and inciting people to attack military installations across Pakistan on May 9, Pakistan-based Dawn reported.

On May 9, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan was arrested at the Islamabad High Court in the Al Qadir Trust case. After his arrest, protests erupted in Pakistan and military installations including the Lahore corps commander's residence and state properties were damaged in Pakistan. The Pakistan army had called the day a "dark chapter" in the country's history and vowed to bring to justice all those involved in the vandalism.

In a first information report (FIR) registered on Monday, complainant Muhammad Aslam said he was passing by Islamabad's G-11 locality on May 9 when he witnessed 20-25 people sharing "screenshots of tweets and video messages" of Adil Raja, Wajahat Saeed Khan, Syed Haider Raza Mehdi and Shaheen Sehbai, Dawn reported.

Muhammad Aslam alleged that the four men "were inciting people to attack military installations, spread terrorism and create chaos" in Pakistan, as per the news report. In the complaint, Aslam said that he checked the social media accounts of the four men after the incident, as per the news report.

The complainant said that after checking their social media account, it was confirmed that all these people "under a planned conspiracy and mutual agreement, are aiding anti-state agencies, defaming the military and attempting to create mutiny in the army." He alleged that the people mentioned in the FIR wanted to "weaken the army" and increase terrorism in Pakistan.

According to the complainant, the accused were involved in "foolish talks" against the army with the goal to "incite terrorist activities and spread fear in the government." Aslam raised the demand for taking criminal action against the social media accounts of the accused persons, according to Dawn report.

The FIR lodged at the Ramna police station included sections 120B (punishment of criminal conspiracy), 121 (waging or attempting to wage war or abetting waging of war against Pakistan), 121A (conspiracy to commit offences punishable by Section 121), and 131 (abetting mutiny, or attempting to seduce a soldier, sailor or airman from his duty). The FIR also included sections 7 (punishment for acts of terrorism) and 21A (cordons for Terrorist Investigation) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, as per the Dawn report.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan National Assembly on Monday passed a resolution calling for swift action against the May 9 rioters under the Army Act, The Express Tribune reported. Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif submitted the resolution, which demanded that the culprits of the May 9 events be prosecuted under the Army Act while respecting human rights.

The text of the resolution said that on May 9, a gang and its leaders broke all boundaries by carrying out attacks on military installations, causing irreparable damage to state institutions and the country, The Express Tribune reported. The resolution stated that all such elements be dealt with in accordance with the law and the Constitution.

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