ISLAMABAD, March 20: The Supreme Court was told on Monday that all 12 websites displaying sacrilegious cartoons of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) on the internet had been blocked.

Attorney General Makhdoom Ali Khan assured the apex court on behalf of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) that all websites carrying the blasphemous cartoons had been blocked.

Headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, the bench was jointly hearing the petition of Dr Mohammad Imran Uppal and Maulvi Iqbal Haider seeking that the blasphemous cartoons and their depictions on the websites be completely blocked.

The court reiterated its earlier orders by asking the AG to suggest how could the court exercise jurisdiction by bringing the developers and originators of such websites into its domain.

The AG and senior advocate Raja Bashir, representing Pemra (Pakistan Electronic and Media Regulatory Authority), suggested that a senior counsel may be appointed as amicus curie to render a meaningful opinion in this regard.

Advocate Ibrahim Satti, the counsel of Maulvi Iqbal Haider, cited Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code — [punishment by death for using derogatory remarks against the Holy Prophet (PBUH) by words, writing or by any imputation — and said the PTA should be prosecuted for its criminal negligence since sacrilegious websites remained accessible in Pakistan for seven months.

In his petition, Dr Imran Uppal has requested the court to restrain the respondent internet service providers from publishing, transmitting and advertising any site showing the depictions of Holy Prophet (PBUH) to intranets and their subscribers in Pakistan.

Convict: Convict Mushtaq Ahmed, whose execution for involvement in the 2003 attempt on President Pervez Musharraf’s life was delayed, moved the Supreme Court with a proper appeal here on Monday.

In the last hearing, the convict was directed by the apex court to withdraw his appeal he had filed by invoking court’s jurisdiction under fundamental rights (Article 184-3 of the constitution) and resubmit it under court’s original appellate jurisdiction (Article 185-3).

“Yes, we have filed the appeal under Article 185(3) of the constitution, but the grounds in the appeal are similar to that of the earlier one,” Advocate Mohammad Akram told Dawn. He is representing Mushtaq Ahmed in the apex court.