41 banned outfits in Pak, including terror organisations, active on Facebook, says report

The report adds that some of these groups claim to be “official” representatives of outfits while others seem to be managed by members and supporters.

The following, and the role social media plays in helping terrorist and radical organisations get them has been a matter of discussion among security experts for some period now. And in India, the use of social networks by groups associated or directly involved with terror groups is well known, especially those such as Hizbul Mujahideen's leaders of the past such as Burhan Wani and Sabzar Bhat.

But this is not merely a case with terror outfits in India. Major terror organisations such as ISIS, Al-Qaeda, among others have also been known to use social networks to not only spread their messages but also recruit those attracted to their philosophy.

And now it has been revealed that banned outfits in Pakistan have been operating on the social networking site Facebook. The country, which is seen by many as a hub of terrorist activities around the world and especially in India, though had banned many outfits, their presence online seems to indicate that they continue to flourish.

According to reports an investigation carried out by Dawn news, 41 out of 64 banned outfits continue to have an online presence as they are operating on Facebook through group or individual user profiles. The network of these outfits are inter-connected and public and are a mixture of both Sunni and Shia sectarian groups, global terrorist organisations operating in the country as well as separatists in Balochistan and Sindh provinces.

The investigation carried out by the Dawn group searched Facebook for pages, groups and user profiles that had publicly "liked" any of the banned outfits. The group searched not only for the full name of the banned outfits but also acronyms and names with small spelling variations.

According to Dawn news, the largest outfits on social network going by the size are Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat with 200 pages and groups, Jeay Sindh Muttahida Mahaz with 160, Sipah-i-Sahaba with 148, Balochistan Students Organisation Azad with 54 and Sipah-e-Muhammad with 45.

The reports also said that other banned outfits that exist on Facebook include Lashkar-e-Jhangvi , Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, Tehreek-e-Taliban Swat, Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi, Jamat-ul-Ahrar, 313 Brigade, along with many other Shia outfits as well as multiple Baloch separatist organisations.

"An examination of some user profiles linked to these banned outfits indicates open support of sectarian and extremist ideology," Dawn news is reported to have quoted in its report. The probe has also reported that some of these profiles have also been publicly "liked" including those related to weapons use and training.

And on who are running these groups and pages on Facebook, the report claims that some of these claim to be "official" representatives of the outfits while others seem to be managed by members and supporters.

The investigation report added, "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."

OneIndia News