ISLAMABAD:
A day after the authorities briefly banned access to microblogging website Twitter due to ‘blasphemous’ material, the city capital police on the orders of a city court on Monday registered a case against social networking giant Facebook.
Margalla police station registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Facebook and three other websites under sections 295-A and 298-A of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) on the directions of Additional Sessions Judge Kamran Basharat Mufti. The application had been submitted by the Namoos-e-Risalat Lawyers Forum (NRLF).
One of the complainants, Advocate Rao Abdur Rahim, told The Express Tribune that they had been informed in July 2011 that Facebook and a few other websites had been posting ‘blasphemous’ posts on their websites and the material was being uploaded from inside Pakistan.
“Concerned government officials, Pakistan Telecom Authority (PTA) and police were requested to take action but they did not pay attention, therefore, Islamabad District Bar on July 27, 2011 filed a complaint for the registration of an FIR but no action was taken” said Rao.
The Namoos-e-Risalat Lawyers Forum then filed an application in the court of Additional Sessions Judge Kamran Basharat Mufti seeking directions to the police to register an FIR.
“We gave three applications: one against Payam TV for telecasting a movie ‘Yousaf’, one against Facebook and three other websites and one against the US embassy in Islamabad for organising a gathering of gays and lesbians,” the petitioner said.
Accepting two applications, Judge Kamran Mufti directed Margalla police to register an FIR against Payam TV and Facebook, however the court turned down the application against the US embassy.
“We will approach the high court for registration of an FIR against the US embassy,” said Rao.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 22nd, 2012.
COMMENTS (59)
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@Anyone wrote I spend more time on Facebook than sleeping and I have never seen such content.
Please get a life ...
@Ahmer Ali: [citation needed]
@Sarah: I disagree with you here on your this stance because you are representing the non-muslims' theory about Hazrat Muhammad (SAW) AND please don't mind and would you like to tell me sincerely and honestly that if some one disgraces,dishonors and degrades your parents or your other ancestors will you defend them or shall keep silent and shall reply in the same manner you have said in this regard? Please remember that Hazrat Muhammad (SAW) said in his true Hadees that you are not a true believer unless I am respectable and honorable for you than your parents and others.
@Masukomi: Stop crying!! who is asking you to call yourself Pakistani. GROW UP
Much hilarity... This makes me wonder about the substance of a faith that does not have enough merit to be able to withstand questioning and criticism... that needs to be defended so vehemently... I believe in a faith that has withstood the test of time... I don't need to defend what I believe in... my GOD has enough strength to repel the forces of negativity and hate...
Being a Pakistani must to be so much fun!
@someone: "But Islam being the divine religion from the One true God shows the westerners how inferior their empire and system is as compared to Islam, so out of jealousy and inward acceptance that Islam is superior and divine"
Can you please enlighten us of the reasons why you think the West feels jealous of us Muslims? You know what, Saudi Arabia can't get a liter of oil without using helping of the West! Even their companies are run by Western executives. For all (the biggest projects) the construction work in Dubai, they hired Western architects. What have we to boast of? We don't have any real achievement in education either! (and please don't tell me Al-beruni) So, my friend, stop boasting of (fake) religious grandeur when we clearly have nothing to back it up, quite the opposite actually. Just being Muslim does NOT mean anything.
Stop computer sale in Pakistan! just ban the computers, banning internet cannot be enough. Its the West corrupting our minds using these fascist tools, computer and internet, keeping our youth busy with computers as the enemy strikes from behind. Its the computers that are the root cause of this. We will gladly go back to stone age for the sake of "Ummah" and ride on camels (and why not, we have "Arabic roots") and live in caves,. For those getting excited about this, this is SARCASM.
@someone: NO ONE is superior to anyone including a Muslim over a Non-Muslim, its in Hadith. Stop thinking that we are superior, be obedient to God (and be a good human being) and that will be good enough. Besides, if we really want to follow Hadith the way it should be, why not ban corruption, crime, poverty, extremism et cetera from our society? these are some of the more real issues in direct relevance to Hadith and Islam and humanity which we don't care about at all.
It is things like this that make me ashamed of being a Pakistani.
Ban electricty as it was used to post these contents as well. Mashallah this judicary is so smart.
BREAKING NEWS: Jewish Zionist Mark Zuckerburg has cancelled his honeymoon and booked a ticket to Islamabad..So that he could surrender to Pakistan police regarding the FIR He announced that as a compensation for this defamation,he will transfer all his shares he holds to the "great advocates" who filed the case against him and applauds them using their skills for fighting against injustice.....
More details of this news can be found in Faking News :)
@someone
"Allah wants to test us to see who among us will stand up for the holy prophet (saw)".
Don't be ridiculous. Not everything in life is a test from Allah.
"Islam being the divine religion from the One true God shows the westerners how inferior their empire and system is as compared to Islam, so out of jealousy and inward acceptance that Islam is superior and divine, they then do such acts ..."
Trust me, we in the west are not one bit jealous. Moreover, our phenomenal progress in the last two centuries was inextricably linked to the freedom to criticize all ideas--including those of the Abrahamic faiths such as Christianity and Islam. The more a society restricts the free exchange of ideas, the further it will be left behind.
Pak lawyers had already tarnished their reputation by supporting a murderer and their graph is further going down with these mindless antics.
Man this is awsome...general public needs BIG references to register fir's....and they register n fir of a website jiska ye kuch patt bhi nai skte...aur even if they block it...proxies take it on from there....i love this country
I didn't even know there was a page dedicated in Facebook to making these cartoons until I saw the big hue and cry in the Pakistani media. Go figure !
Looks like qayamat is not far away, Israel, India and Facebook are conspiring to destroy very pious republic of ours!
ridicilous!! i really odnt understsand this!! this is just so stuoid, if it was not odne in thel ife of Holy prophet SAW then it really dsont carry any significance!! not all countries islamic follw this so that menas not even in quran! police and judicary shd start to od justice to tier role rather than getting invloved in issues that will not have any impact!!
@Ahmer Ali:
You, sir, are a poster child of why Pakistan is a laughingstock of the world. Try and mind your own business. If there's something that YOU find offensive on FB DON'T READ IT. I may find the same material funny and/or interesting. Your dislike of that material shouldn't deprive me of the right to see it. Simple concept. Can you grasp it?
More bigotry. More agitation. All wrong steps. Exactly the result desired by the authors. lol.
And why a case against Payam TV? For showing Yousaf? I have watched "Yousaf" and I must say it is one of the most historically accurate movies I have ever seen.
And what drives these Namoos laywers to search blasphemous stuff on facebook? Do they want ke unn zauk i justuju ko appreciate kiya jaye??
what..........dont these guys have anything better to do.......?????
@someone: Maybe no one maligns Buddhism because Buddhists aren't routinely killing people in the name of their religion.
@someone, Thumbsup
All those who are making a joke of the FIR will be in loss.
@someone: Everyone says that their own religion is the one true divine religion from the true god or gods. Your statement is no different.
@RRS:
Imagine the irony if the notices would be emailed to the ISP!!
@ someone
Cool story bro.
Allah Almighty surely has other problems. He is not bothered what you do and how you do it. These lawyers should really spend their time in trying to reduce the evils of our society e.g. child abuse, kidnapping, acid throwing etc etc. Man you gotta be kidding wasting time on such trivial matters.
Hahahahaha!!!
Are we living in the dark ages or what?
@someone,
God is creator of nature why should he waste his time for testing you people?
So, did you shake the foundations of the west?
@Sarah Of Course Allah (swt) protects Prophet (saw), but Allah wants to test us to see who among us will stand up for the holy prophet (saw). Remember Allah and Allah's Messenger (saw) do not need us. It is we who need Allah and the holy Prophet (saw).
@mj No one maligns buddhism because no one cares about buddhism, it does not have the ability to shake the foundations of the western empire. But Islam being the divine religion from the One true God shows the westerners how inferior their empire and system is as compared to Islam, so out of jealousy and inward acceptance that Islam is superior and divine, they then do such acts (similar to what the kuffar e Makkah and the Jews of Madina did 1450 years ago)
Next Thing, CJ would be sending notice to Zuckerberg- What a Joke!
Pathetic !
This is getting so sad I can't even laugh at it anymore.
Do something productive please!
Why not just declare war against the country where these 'blasphemers' are based anything less than this madness would just not satisfy some of these "stupids" who are perhaps not jobless and have more than their share of the goodies.
A joke that is not even funny!
If you don't like contents, block the sender or don't visit such site, as simple as that. These lawyers are jobless stupids.
Can't we register an FIR against the internet? I think it would be so much more effective. And while we're at it, why not register one against Bill Gates for all the Windows system and against the grave of Steve Jobs for creating the Mac? After all, its their inventions that make it possible for us to access this content! sarcasm intended for those dimwits who don't get it
Pakistan is now a laughing stock for the whole world right now...:(
I think its time we held the government and police responsible for these incompetent banning decisions which do nothing but waste time. Heads should roll and resignations should be demanded!
making of a dumb state
Our lawyers and such great men, I mean vigilantism is just not the appropriate word to describe the levels of greatness these men have achieved. Judicial activisum is another term that is often used but truly it is only an insult to their achievements, they are vultures, they are doing exactly the same "word of mouth" miracle as the presence of Taliban in Pakistan does to our international image. If they succeed in getting Facebook banned again, well that will only be another step to achieving the greater goal of becoming the "Judicial Taliban".
@Ahmer Ali: Respect is not earned by intimidation or threats of violence. If you want others to respect your holy personalities, then adapt their positive traits and act like a model citizen. As far as I know, no one attempts to malign Buddha, Buddhists, and Buddhism.
@Ahmer Ali: All of you out there trying to 'protect' the prophet's honor need to realize that he really doesnt need you. His God will protect his honor for him as is mentioned in the book. Why're you trying to act God?
I spend more time on Facebook than sleeping and I have never seen such content.
The real question was what were the lawyers doing and searching for? Who (muslims) in their right mind would search for such stuff?
Next they should register an FIR against all schools since the people writing blasphemous things obviously were educated in schools and so all schools MUST be burned to the ground. Also, electricity should be banned because
One thing bothers me. Its the us vs them attitude. People calling this FIR lodging a joke and the people who think its not should make efforts to talk about why they think they are right rather than just start judging and labeling each other.
This polarity needs to be taken head on. I wish for the media to play its role. Please.
When will this madness of banning social networking sites stop??
It's great to see that all issues (e.g. corruption load shedding, unemployment, etc) have been resolved and now we are going after pointless issues.
Cant you come up with better ways to spend your time, like trying to reduce the backlog in courts due to ineffeciency
The next step is to register an First Information Report on the Internet as all the facebook traffic is carried through the Internet back bone.
To stop such these types of derogatory and blasphemous contents from sharing/publishing on Facebook and Twitter against the Islam and the sacred personalities of Islam especially Last Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (SAW) in the future permanently one group/nation/country can't do any thing because this is the collective duty/effort or in other words team work with the help the whole Islamic world's leaders this Western's and advanced countries' nations favorite attitude in the competition form can be controlled/eliminated and unfortunately the shameless and eunuchs Arab leaders are seeing all this like the silent spectators as has been nothing happening before them in the world against the Last Prophet Hazrat Muhammad's (SAW) honor,grace,respect and dignity.
As if it is gonna do anything better but at least some has the courage and commitment to do so.
These guys need to put their FACE iin a BOOK and learn how the Internet works.