In an effort to counteract sectarianism during Muharram, the Punjab Interior Department has launched the first cyber patrol cell and cyber response in the province. The avant -garde unit will operate 24 hours a day to monitor social media platforms in search of objectable and inflammatory content, and to take rapid legal actions against offenders. According to official deliveries published on June 30, the Punjab Police registered nine cases in the last 24 hours for online and hateful content circulation. Ten people have been arrested in relation to these cases: eight for publishing on Facebook and two to share material through WhatsApp. The arrests were made in Sargodha, Sahiwal, Lodhran, Bhakkar, Khanewal, Rajanpur and Layyah. Punjab Police Inspector, Dr. Usman Anwar, said that force is taking energetic measures against the digital incitement of religious hatred.
"Anyone who uses social networks to disseminate sectarianism will face all the force of the law," He warned. The newly formed cyber cell is within the central control room of the Department of Origin and operates in collaboration with the General Directorate of Public Relations (DGPR) and the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB). Monitor online platforms for hate speeches, false news and provocative content. The informed material is transmitted to the special branch, which in turn coordinates with the Telecommunications Authority of Pakistan (PTA) to block said content. Until now, the unit has marked 271 social media accounts for the PTA, resulting in the arrest of 17 people involved in the dissemination of sectarian hate online. The cell is also fully integrated with the infrastructure of the safe city of Punjab and receives real -time updates from the control rooms at the district level. A dedicated "Muharram e-portal" It has been established to link all districts with the central unit for simplified coordination and incident reports. The living surveillance of Muharram’s main processions and religious meetings is also being held from the control room. The initiative was reviewed during the 31st Meeting of the Law and Order of the Cabinet, held in the Department of Interior and chaired by the provincial Minister of Health Khawaja Salman Rafique. The meeting was attended by Provincial Minister Chaudhry Shafay Hussain, the Secretary of the Interior, Dr. Ahmad, Javed Qazi and senior police officers, the Department of Against Terrorism, the rangers and other agencies of application of the law. Speaking at the meeting, Rafique reaffirmed that guaranteeing peace during Muharram is the main priority of the provincial government. More than 150,000 police personnel have been deployed in Punjab, with the support of the Army and the Pakistan Rangers. Section 144 will be applied on Muharram 9 and 10 to restrict the driving of the breeding, and a general prohibition has been placed in the public exhibition of weapons. He also confirmed that robust security arrangements have been completed for the next Hazrat Baba Fariduddin Ganj Shakar’s US. The Department of the Interior urged the public to use social networks in a responsible manner and warned that those found that share sectarian or inflammatory content would be strictly agreed with the law.
