LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday summoned the federal secretaries for interior and communication, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) chairman and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) director general (DG) in a case regarding alleged derogatory remarks on social media against religious personalities.

A citizen, Liaquat Ali Chohan, through his counsel questioned the inefficiency of the FIA in taking action against the delinquents involved in sharing derogatory remarks and pictures about sacred personalities.

In compliance with a previous order, FIA Additional Director Lahore Abuzar Sibtain appeared before the court and stated that the matter raised by the petitioner had been referred for scrutiny and initiating of inquiry to dig out the actual users who uploaded the allegedly objectionable posts on social media.

The petitioner’s counsel stated that the material was still available on the websites and no serious action was initiated against those who committed the crime.

Chief Justice Muhammad Qasim Khan observed that it was a statutory duty of the state functionaries to perform their duties in accordance with law and the Constitution. He remarked, “The constitutional guarantees are the backbone of our religion, therefore, it is the duty of every Muslim living in Pakistan to maintain honour and dignity of Islam and any derogatory remarks from anyone concerned must be wiped out on any website within the domain of Pakistan and such outrageous and acrimonious acts should be curbed down with iron hands so that no one could dare do such acts again.”

He directed a deputy attorney general to ensure personal appearance of the interior and communication secretaries, the PTA chairman and the FIA DG Islamabad on Wednesday (today) along with their respective reports.

The chief justice observed that the issue was related to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and other personalities who were not only regarded sacred by Muslims, but universally. He further directed the law officer to seek instructions from the federal cabinet secretary in this regard and also apprise about the progress of the instant issue.

Published in Dawn, October 1st, 2020