ISLAMABAD: The interior ministry informed the National Assembly on Monday that 152 Facebook pages have been blocked for featuring blasphemous content.

The written reply came to the question asked by MNA Sahibzada Tariq Ullah regarding action taken by the government against those involved in the posting of blasphemous content on social media.

The ministry said two FIRs were also registered against individuals thought to have been uploading blasphemous content. One of these was registered last month by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Cyber Crime Circle Rawalpindi last month and the second was also registered last month at the Ramna police station.

The ministry said relevant US authorities have been asked to help close down the social media sites which feature blasphemous content and track down those involved.

Three suspects have been arrested by the FIA and eight were places on the Exit Control List, the minister’s written reply said.

The reply goes on to say that the interior minister had met with ambassadors from Muslim countries for orchestrating an effective, collaborative response against the social media sites which feature blasphemous content.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has sent letters to the Organisation of Islamic Conference and to the Arab League as well.

The ministry said Facebook has been asked to send representatives to Pakistan for taking speedy action against the pages containing blasphemous content.

The reply says: “Chairman [PTA] has contacted his counterparts in brotherly Muslim countries for formulating a collective response against blasphemous sites”.

An inter- ministerial consultation is being held for assessing existing legal regime and providing suitable amendments to various laws to provide a stringent legal framework for investigating and arresting culprits.

In reply to another question, the interior minister told the house that 114,000 aliens had obtained a Computerised National Identity Card, which the National Database and Registration Authority has blocked.

Published in Dawn, April 18th, 2017