The organised networks fueling online hate in Pakistan

Online hate in Pakistan is not a normal anomaly; rather, it is the extension of organised hate networks and societal inequalities that run with impunity. A recent research on tackling marginalisation in online spaces suggests that digital harassment is not a spontaneous hostility rather, it is a structured tool of control. It operates in such a way that aligns with existing power structures, thus silencing the ones who challenge the status quo.

Organized Hate as an Extension of the Status Quo

The study posits that the organized hate against marginalized communities isn’t an Unconventional practice; rather, it is the reflection of deeply ingrained social and political order. It is noted that cyber harassment laws like PECA 2016 and its 2025 amendments penalise digital harassment in theory. However, they rarely stand against organized hate campaigns that reinforce state narratives on religion, morality, and national identity.

Religious groups, political parties, and conservative influences actively engage in online hate campaigns against marginalized communities, eg, feminist religious minorities and transgender activists. The research further found that these hate campaigns were not random but rather deliberate, employing moral panic, disinformation, and blasphemy rhetoric to agitate widespread hostility.

Once a hate campaign is launched, the digital mob expands the harassment, giving an impression that it is spontaneous, although it follows predictable patterns tied to political happenings, legal issues, or feminist action.

The inaction of the state—or even worse, its complicity—only serves to validate these assaults. Law enforcement rarely intervenes even if the hate speech or doxxing violates the PECA. This is particularly true for the victims who belong to marginalized sections of society.

The State’s Role in Digital Impunity

The study shows that Pakistan’s legal and institutional system supports digital hate instead of challenging it. The FIA authority that is responsible for enforcing PECA is structurally biased, selectively responsive, and underfunded.

Introduced in PECA 2025, the Social Media Protection Authority (SMPA) increases the government’s capacity to stifle dissent even as it neglects to punish offenders of gendered and sectarian cyber harassment.

Cyber laws are sometimes weaponised against political dissidents and activists, not against organised networks encouraging violence against women, trans people, or minorities.

Often, FIA officials mishandle harassment allegations, thus supporting a culture in which digital abuse is viewed as an extension of societal norms instead of a criminal offense.

It is important to note that it is a design, not a flaw, that cybercrime laws are not enforced. Perpetrators of digital hate campaigns enjoy state-sponsored impunity because they conform to established power structures, while victims suffer social and legal consequences simply for being online.

Why Legal Reforms Alone Will Not Fix This

The study emphasizes that legal reform is insufficient to address cyber harassment. Although there are laws, they are only applied selectively. For structural change to occur, the following points are essential,

PECA should be changed to make organized online violence, not just isolated incidents, illegal.

To safeguard underrepresented populations, the FIA should eliminate institutional prejudice in its cybercrime investigations.

Challenging the digital repression supported by the state that defends hate campaigns as “public sentiment.”

 Using public policy, education, and the media to address the cultural validity of online violence.

 In Pakistan, cyber harassment is a state and societal function where organized networks use digital tools to reinforce exclusion. It is not only about lone trolls. Digital spaces will remain weapons against those who oppose the existing quo unless structural impunity is eliminated.