Social media post lands citizen in jail amid security alert in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: Police have arrested a citizen for mocking and likening the Tarnol railway crossing to the Strait of Hormuz, police said.

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

The arrest was made after registration of a case against the man under sections 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public servant), 341 (punishment for wrongful restrains) and 511 (punishment for attempting to commit offences punishable with imprisonment for life or for a shorter term) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) in response to a complaint lodged by Sub-inspector Shahid Asghar of Tarnol Police Station.

According to the FIR, the man 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 the man, a resident of Dhoke Paracha, had shared the post.

In view of the prevailing security situation, the government has imposed Section 144 against promotion and advertisements related to it.

It said the citizen was taken into custody and his phone was checked and evidence about the social media post was found in it.

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.

When contacted, Advocate Supreme Court Rizwan Abbasi said all the offences mentioned in the FIR did not make sense and the high court would quash the case if approached by the citizen. He said the statement comes under freedom of expression and did not in any way threaten national security.

Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2026