Court summons FIA, PTA in blasphemous content case

Lahore High Court’s (LHC) Chief Justice Muhammad Qasim Khan has directed the officials of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to appear in person before the court in a plea against blasphemous content on Facebook.

CJ Khan was hearing a petition against blasphemous content which different groups were running on social media especially on Facebook.

The counsel implored the court that he had visited the FIA office to get registered a case but all in vain. He said the FIA demands evidence but he is at a loss to understand that are these not the evidence which he had attached with the petition.

As proceedings commenced, the CJ directed the petitioner’s counsel to read the content against which he had filed the petition.

At which the counsel requested the court to read himself, adding he does not want to repeat the blasphemous content. The chief justice read the petition and the blasphemous content taken from Facebook and had been attached with the petition.

The CJ directed the FIA director general and PTA director to appear in person before the court along with comments by the next date.

Petitioner contended that there was an increase in the anti-Islamic activities in Pakistan through social media in the last few years and the content was now openly being preached and propagated on Facebook and YouTube.

The petitioner maintained that the content was derogatory, contemptuous and blasphemous. He contended that he visited all relevant forums for the redressal of his grievance but all in vain.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 18^th, 2021.