In Pakistan, authorities have unleashed a crackdown on social media activists accused of criticizing and ridiculing the army in their online postings. An official announcement late yesterday said the cyber crime wing of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has been ordered to swiftly move against people who are engaging in condemnable activities. <br/><br/>Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan warned that ridiculing Pakistan army or its officers on social media in the name of freedom of speech is unacceptable and a serious offense.<br/><br/>The minister directed the FIA to take strict action against anyone found guilty of posting the content on social media intentionally or unintentionally. The crackdown comes amid sustained criticism of the military for issuing a controversial statement days before it was recanted last week. <br/><br/>The civil-military rift stemmed from an article in a leading English-language newspaper, Dawn, published last October that suggested the army was reluctant to crack down on Islamic militants plotting attacks against neighboring Afghanistan and India from sanctuaries on Pakistani soil.