*ISLAMABAD: *
An Islamabad-based journalist, Asad Ali Toor has been booked on charges of spreading “negative propaganda” against the state and its institutions through his social media posts.
Toor shared a copy of the FIR on his Twitter account on Monday.
The complaint, registered by a resident of Rawalpindi named Ehtisham Ahmed, states that, "[Toor] spread negative propaganda and used derogatory language against the government institutions, including the Pakistan Army, which was a grave crime according to the law."
Toor has been booked under sections 505 (statements conducing to public mischief), 500 (punishment for defamation) and 499 (defamation) and of the Pakistan Penal Code and sections 37 (unlawful online content), 11 (hate speech) and 20 (offences against dignity of a person) of the Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act 2016. This is the third case of journalists being booked for “spreading hatred” against the state and its institutions in four days.