Karachi – A judicial magistrate in Karachi has sentenced Abdullah Saleem to six years in prison for blackmailing a woman through fake Facebook accounts. The court found him guilty of creating multiple profiles under his friend’s name, uploading her private images, and using them to harass her after she declined his engagement proposal. Magistrate Yusra Ashfaq (East) handed down the verdict under Sections 20, 21, and 24 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016, awarding two years of imprisonment for each charge.
According to the judgment, the prosecution presented compelling evidence demonstrating Saleem’s actions beyond doubt. The court noted that he deliberately targeted the complainant to harm her dignity and reputation within her family and community. By sharing private videos without consent and circulating them publicly, he violated her privacy and modesty, causing emotional and social harm. It was also established that the motive behind the crime stemmed from resentment after his marriage proposal was rejected due to concerns about his behavior and anger issues. In response, he created fake social media accounts to spread her images and defame her character as an act of revenge.
State prosecutor Sheraz Rajpar detailed that the complainant had ended her friendship with Saleem because of inappropriate conduct. Following this, Saleem began misusing her personal images through fake profiles to intimidate her and her family. In her statement to the court, the victim described how he admitted to running the accounts and threatened that she would never be able to marry, even warning at one point that he would push her toward suicide. This testimony, combined with digital evidence, formed a strong basis for the prosecution’s case.
During the trial, prosecutors submitted screenshots, IP logs, WhatsApp chats, and a forensic report linking the fake accounts to Saleem. Investigators also recovered his mobile phone, which confirmed that the profiles were tied to his number and IP address. Despite denying the charges and claiming false implication, his defense failed to produce convincing evidence. The court dismissed his plea and upheld the prosecution’s findings. The case had been originally registered by Federal Investigation Agency’s Cyber Crime Cell under Sections 20, 21, and 24 of PECA, ultimately resulting in his conviction and sentencing. This ruling underscores the application of Pakistan’s cybercrime laws in addressing misuse of social media for harassment and protecting victims’ rights in digital spaces.
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