MULTAN: A man in Yazman tehsil of Bahawalpur has been charged with sedition for allegedly using abusive language for the Armed Forces. In a complaint filed with Sadar police, Bismillan Khan, a resident of Dhobiyan Wali Street, has accused Abdul Qayum Arain, a resident of Chak DB/47, of posting ‘obnoxious’ messages and photos on his Facebook account against the armed forces and Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa. The FIR registered under section 124-A of the Pakistan Penal Code (sedition) and section 29 of the Telegraph Act states that Bismillah Khan was sitting at his farmhouse with his friends Sajid Ali and Mohammad when he saw the post on his Facebook newsfeed. It said that the suspect was a resident of Khan’s neighborhood. “Seeing hateful material and derogatory remarks against Pakistan Army has greatly disturbed me and I think this act may induce people towards hatred [sic] against the esteemed institution,” the FIR further quoted Khan as saying.
PPC’s Section 124-A states that whoever brings into hatred or contempt the federal and provincial government shall be punished with up to imprisonment for life to which fine may be added. Section 29-D is related to fabricated or obscene messages and it states that if any person transmits or causes to be transmitted by telegraph a message which he knows or has reason to believe to be false and fabricated, or a message which is indecent or obscene, he shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both.
Published in Daily Times, August 10th 2018.