Pakistan's banned terror outfits actively operating through Facebook

Terrorists in Pakistan, it seems, are just one click away, as forty-one out of 64 banned terror outfits are active on Facebook either in groups or as individual users.

Given that Pakistan is facing global isolation after numerous terror attacks on Indian security forces and installations, including in Pathankot last year, the Nawaz Sharif government has asked the military brass to act firmly against terror outfits operating in the country. So, the question that arises is that if there has been a crackdown launched on these terror outfits, how are they so active on Facebook?

According to an investigation carried out by Dawn during April this year, these outfits are a mix of Sunni and Shia, sectarian and representing global terror organisations in Pakistan, as also having links with separatists in Balochistan and Sindh.

Some techniques were used to identify the terror groups active on Facebook i.e. the name s of all banned outfits, including acronyms, variations in spelling was done to search pages on Facebook.

The size of the terror outfit can be judged by the number of pages on the social site, reports the Daily.

For instance, the terror outfit Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) has 200 pages and groups like the Jeay Sindh Muttahida Mahaz (JSMM) and Sipah-i-Sahaba (SSP) have 160 and 148 pages respectively. The Balochistan Students Organisation Azad (BSO-A) has 54 pages, while the Sipah-e-Muhammad has 45 pages.

Other banned outfits which exist on Facebook at a smaller scale 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.

This shows that there is still a lot of support for sectarian and extremist ideologies in Pakistan.