Investigation
ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Interior has established a four-member joint investigation team (JIT) to probe the smear campaign against Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Aamir Farooq on social media. The JIT, led by the Director of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Cybercrime division, comprises officers from Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Intelligence Bureau (IB), and Islamabad police, as per an interior ministry notification.
The notification also stated that the FIA Headquarters Secretariat will assist the JIT in uncovering the facts behind the social media smear campaign against CJ Farooq. Furthermore, Initial findings will be submitted to the Ministry of Interior within 15 days.
On August 28, the Ministry of Law and Justice issued a warning to political parties against targeting state institutions in response to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) campaign against the high court’s chief justice. In a statement, the ministry condemned a political party’s social media campaign against IHC CJ without naming anyone. The ministry noted that the party used derogatory language not only against Justice Farooq but also against the judiciary.
The party’s official Twitter handle, referred to as “X,” labeled Justice Farooq a “hypocrite” and accused him of facilitating the PTI chairman’s abduction, using various offensive hashtags, posts, and videos to target the judge.
Legal experts deemed the campaign a direct attack on the judiciary and judges, constituting contempt of court.
The Islamabad High Court Bar Association vehemently condemned the malicious campaign against CJ Farooq on social media, highlighting his integrity, impartiality, competence, and commitment to merit. In addition, The bar asserted that such deliberate malicious campaigns aimed to diminish the stature of a distinguished judge and undermine public confidence in the judiciary.
