ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday gave the federal government 30 days to constitute a commission to investigate misuse of blasphemy law.

The order came during the hearing of a case seeking the formation of such a commission Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, while hearing the case, ordered that the commission should complete its work within four months.

However, he allowed the commission to seek an extension from the court, if required.

While concluding the hearing, Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan said the court’s primary task was to determine whether there were sufficient grounds to form a commission.

Satisfied with the arguments, he ordered the government to form the commission within 30 days and instructed that it must submit its findings within four months. Any request for an extension must be brought before the court.

IHC judge concerned by ‘disappearance’ of woman believed to be a central figure in a number of related cases

The judge also expressed concern over the disappearance of a woman who is the elusive central figure linked to an ongoing blasphemy-related case.

During the proceedings of this case, Komal Ismail had been identified as ‘Iman’, a shadowy figure who was allegedly involved in ‘trapping’ a number of those accused of blasphemy.

Earlier this month, Justice Ejaz Ishaq Khan had ordered her CNIC to be blocked over her failure to appear before the court.

On Tuesday, an official from the National Cyber Crimes Investigation Agency (NCCIA) informed the bench that four SIMs were registered under her identity, but all these numbers had became inactive after November.

Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq noted that while the petition in the case had been filed on September 14, and Komal went missing in November.

The officer also said that Ms Ismail had not left the country and was believed to be still in Pakistan. Her name has been placed on the Exit Control List (ECL), and efforts to trace her are ongoing.

The judge observed that the matter directly concerned Komal’s personal safety. “Her life may be in danger. What action can the agency take in such a situation?” he asked.

Advocate Hadi Ali Chatha informed the court that earlier, it had asked for WhatsApp data of three mobile numbers, but telecom companies had responded that WhatsApp data is not covered under Call Detail Records (CDRs), and even standard CDRs are only available for the past year.

The judge remarked that if an intelligence agency has the capability to retrieve such data, the commission should be empowered to request its assistance, adding, “This is a matter of people’s lives”.

The court also reviewed the conduct of the investigation.

Naik Muhammad, one of the accused, had claimed he was trapped by a woman named ‘Iman’.

Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq questioned the thoroughness of the investigation, observing that officials had merely retrieved five images from Naik Muhammad’s phone and built a case without establishing whether ‘Iman’ had ever contacted him.

Advocate Chatha also revealed that the complainant in the case, Shiraz Farooqi, had remained in contact with the accused just a week before filing the complaint. When questioned by the court, Farooqi denied the claim, calling it “a complete lie.”

Published in Dawn, July 16th, 2025