The Ministry of Interior has established a four-member joint investigative team (JIT) to probe the social media smear campaign against Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Aamir Farooq.
According to a notification released by the interior ministry, the JIT will be led by the director of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Cybercrime and comprise agents from the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Intelligence Bureau (IB), and Islamabad police.
The statement further stated that the FIA Headquarters Secretariat will assist the investigation team in learning the truth about the CJ Farooq smear campaign on social media.
The notification further said that the initial findings would be submitted within 15 days to the Ministry of Interior.
On August 28, in response to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) defamation of the chief justice of the Islamabad High Court, the Ministry of Law and Justice issued a warning to political parties not to target state institutions.
The ministry issued a statement in which it criticized the social media campaign against IHC CJ by a political party without mentioning any specific individuals.
The ministry further said the party was also using derogatory language not only against Justice Farooq but also against the judiciary.
Justice Farooq is referred to as a "hypocrite" in the campaign from the party's official X (formerly known as Twitter) handle and is accused of aiding in the ‘kidnapping’ of the PTI chairman. Additionally, a number of derogatory hashtags, posts, and videos were used to target the judge.
Legal experts said that the campaign constituted contempt of court since it was a direct attack on the judiciary and judges.
The nasty campaign against CJ Farooq on social media was also harshly denounced by the Islamabad High Court Bar Association, which noted that the judge was renowned for his honesty, objectivity, expertise, and dedication to merit.
It further stated that those who incite harmful propaganda should be held accountable.