Pakistan: Sindh to crack down on those spreading hatred through social media

Karachi: Amid heightened ethnic tension in the province, the Sindh government has warned anyone who uses social media to spread message of hatred will be arrested.

Sindh Information Minister, Sharjeel Inam Memon’s warning came as tension prevailed between two main ethnic communities after a recent murder of a young man in Hyderabad.

Speaking at a press conference, Memon said he had spoken to the Interior Ministry with the request that the Federal Investigation Agency should immediately arrest anyone who would use social media for spreading hatred against any community.

“Now anyone posting any video clip that would disturb peace will be arrested.”

Several videos appeared on social media showing incidents of forced closure of businesses or eateries in the province by miscreants amid rising ethnic tension following the murder.

“The Interior Ministry has assured us that anyone involved in spreading hatred through social media from anywhere in Pakistan will be immediately arrested,” he said.

Sharjeel said the miscreants should keep in mind that the provincial government apart from alerting the federal authorities would also take action against anyone attempting to disturb peace in the province.

“There is zero tolerance on this issue as anyone attempting to endanger the lives and belongings of people through acts of hate crime will immediately be imprisoned as no one should have any doubt about this,” he warned.

He said that strict action would be taken against the miscreants without considering their communal or political affiliations.

He mentioned that Sindh belonged to Sufi saints and peace-loving people except for a handful of miscreants who wanted to promote an ethnic divide.

He said the vast majority of the people and their representative political parties wanted that all communities lived peacefully in the province.

Memon cautioned people to remain watchful about such vicious elements who might be present among them and wanted to promote ethnic tension for their own vested interests.

Also on the occasion, leaders of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party spoke in Sindhi and Pashto languages urging people of the two communities to live peacefully and foil all the designs of the anti-peace elements that are after the ethnic calm in the province.