41 banned outfits in Pakistan operate freely on Facebook: Report | World News - Hindustan Times
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41 banned outfits in Pakistan operate freely on Facebook: Report

Indo Asian News Service, Islamabad | By
May 30, 2017 09:44 PM IST

While some of the Facebook pages and groups claim to be “official” representatives of the outfits, others appear to be managed by members and supporters in ideological agreement.

Forty-one out of Pakistan’s 64 banned outfits are operating on Facebook as groups or individual user profiles, a media report said on Monday.

Forty one banned outfits from Pakistan are operating on Facebook, a media report said.(Reuters Photo)
Forty one banned outfits from Pakistan are operating on Facebook, a media report said.(Reuters Photo)

According to an investigation carried out by Dawn news last month, the outfits’ network, both interconnected and public, is a mix of Sunni and Shia sectarian groups, global terror organisations operating in Pakistan, and separatists in Balochistan and Sindh provinces.

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The names of all banned outfits -- including acronyms and small variations in spelling -- were searched on Facebook to find pages, groups, and user profiles that publicly “liked” a banned outfit.

The biggest outfits on the social network, in order of size, are Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) with 200 pages and groups, Jeay Sindh Muttahida Mahaz (JSMM) with 160, Sipah-i-Sahaba (SSP) with 148, Balochistan Students Organisation Azad (BSO-A) with 54 and Sipah-e-Muhammad with 45, according to Dawn news.

Other banned outfits that exist on Facebook include Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Tehreek-e-Taliban Swat, Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi, Jamat-ul-Ahrar, 313 Brigade, multiple Shia outfits and a host of Baloch separatist organisations.

“An examination of some user profiles linked to these banned outfits indicates open support of sectarian and extremist ideology,” Dawn news said in its probe report.

A few of these profiles have also publicly “liked” pages and groups related to weapons use and training.

While some of the Facebook pages and groups claim to be “official” representatives of the outfits, others appear to be managed by members and supporters in ideological agreement.

“In general, the Facebook updates were in Urdu or Roman Urdu rather than English, suggesting the content was primarily for local consumption. A very small number were in Sindhi or Balochi, also indicating a niche target audience,” the report added.

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