Justice Babar Sattar and his family recently became the targets of unauthorized data leaks and coordinated social media campaigns.
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) detailed its findings in a comprehensive report submitted to the court. This report highlighted several social media accounts primarily used for retweeting content related to the smear campaign against Justice Sattar. Notably, a hashtag initiated by Khawaja Muhammad Yasin, a resident of Azad Kashmir, was linked to this case. The court expressed surprise at Yasin’s involvement, questioning his motives given his distant location in Neelum Valley.
X (Twitter) has provided helpful feedback to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), aiding in the ongoing investigation. The campaign’s initial phase involved 39 Twitter accounts, out of which 29 turned out to be fictitious. Another series involving 155 accounts related to a later hashtag proved largely unidentifiable.
Read: Islamabad High Court Takes Action in Justice Babar Sattar Data Leak Case
Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani has directed the FIA to liaise with the U.S. Embassy for further details. The FIA plans to present more information about these accounts at the next court hearing.
Additionally, the FIA has issued notices to six individuals believed to be behind the campaign. Ismail Qasim and Syed Faizan Rafique have already responded, while the others have not yet appeared in court.
Senior journalist Amir Saeed Abbasi reported that the campaign’s organizers included vloggers such as Chaudhry Saeed from Lahore and Ehsan Chatha from London, highlighting the international scope of the investigation.
