Citizen taken into custody for likening Tarnol Railway Crossing to Strait of Hormuz: FIR

ISLAMABAD: Police have arrested a citizen for allegedly mocking and likening the Tarnol Railway crossing to the Strait of Hormuz, according to a first information report (FIR).

The Strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping route, has been virtually paralysed by the Middle East war.

The FIR, a copy of which is available with Dawn, has been registered on the complaint of Sub-inspector Shahid Asghar on the state’s behalf.

The FIR was registered under Section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public servant), Section 341 (punishment for wrongful restrains) and Section 511 (punishment for attempting to commit offences punishable with imprisonment for life or for a shorter term) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

According to the complaint, a man named Khurram Nazeer, was accused of sharing a post on social media, saying, “Tarnol Railway Crossing is no less than the Strait of Hormuz. If it is closed, all our problems will be resolved”.

The FIR stated that the post went viral on social media. Upon seeing the post, police reached Tarnol Chowk and investigated the matter, where it emerged that Nazeer, a resident of Dhok Paracha, Islamabad, shared the post.

It further said that in view of the prevailing security situation, the government had imposed Section 144 against the promotion and advertisements related to it.

It said that the citizen was taken into custody and his phone was also checked, wherein evidence of the social media post was also found.

It is worth mentioning that the development comes as extraordinary security measures are in place in the twin cities ahead of an expected second round of talks between the United States and Iran amid the war in the Middle East.