The federal government has established a five-member Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to look into organized malicious social media campaigns targeting the state. According to a recent notification, the JIT was formed under Section 30 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca), 2016.

The team will be led by the Inspector General of Police, Islamabad, and will include two senior officials from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and Islamabad police.

The committee is composed of the FIA’s Director of Cybercrime, the Director of the Counter-Terrorism Wing at the FIA, the Deputy Inspector General of Investigation, and the Senior Superintendent of Police from the Counter-Terrorism Department.

This team has been tasked with investigating and addressing the recent malicious online activities against the state.

The JIT will investigate and uncover the organized goals of those responsible for creating chaos and disorder in Pakistan through malicious social media campaigns. Additionally, the panel is responsible for identifying and prosecuting the offenders according to relevant laws.

This move follows the establishment of special courts by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government to handle trials under the Peca Act.