Man held for uploading controversial video on social media

Aggrieved party stages protest against hate content on Facebook

BALAKOT:

Police have arrested Lala Khurshid, an administrator of a Facebook Page named ‘Insaf Pakistan’, after hundreds of people blocked the Kaghan road to protest against the ridiculing of the Gujjar community on social media.

Members of the community had demanded that a controversial song, which mocked the Gujjar community, be taken down from the aforementioned platform two days ago. However, instead of complying with their wishes, the admin re-shared the song on the said page.

Locals and elders of the Gujjar community in the area then approached the Balakot police station to seek justice. Later, they blocked the road first at Madni Plaza and then outside the police station for two hours, where hundreds of demonstrators took part in the protest.

Meanwhile, a committee formed by the protesters, including former tehsil nazim Balakot Syed Junaid Ali, Qasim Sardar, Asad Chauhan Advocate, Qazi Muhammad Sadiq Khatana, Sardar Tabarak, Haji Ghulam Haider, Sardar Shehzad Haider, Maulana Mian Inayat-ur-Rehman, Haji Tahir Khan, Chaudhry Nazir and others, met Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Siraj Khan. After the meeting, Additional Superintendent of Police (SP) Jamilur Rehman also reached Balakot from Mansehra.

After negotiations with the five-member committee of elders, Lala Khurshid was arrested and a cased was registered against him under Section A-153. DSP Siraj Khan promised appropriate action, following which the protesters dispersed peacefully.

On the other hand, Rajab Ali Azad lodged a complaint in the FIA Cyber Crime Wing Abbottabad and requested for the closure of the web channel and legal action against the admin. The FIA issued summons.

According to legal experts, the accused may face up to five years imprisonment and a fine, or both, if found guilty.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, January 18^th, 2022.