FIA issues vague ads to please court in blasphemy case

ISLAMABAD: In order to show implementation of IHC directives for blocking blasphemous content on social media, the FIA has issued ads in national dailies appealing to the masses to report against any blasphemy pages on social media but the ad itself is very vague and confusing.

The FIA ad is looking very vague as it has asked people to report blasphemous pages on social media ignoring the entire Internet. Not only it has ignored other websites but there is no address, telephone number and any website where people could contact the investigation agency in this regard from any part of the country.

The FIA advertisement shows as if blasphemy is happening within federal capital and people of ICT are aware of the address given in the advertisement. It has ignored the fact that this illegal act could be performed anywhere in the world and if someone has to report against any such act, the ad should tell them how to contact the authorities concerned.

Earlier, Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui of Islamabad High Court had directed the government institutions to take action against the elements involved in blasphemy and block websites containing blasphemous content.

He remarked that apparently the bureaucracy has failed to tackle such a sensitive issue which sometimes resulted in the murder of alleged blasphemers. He observed that if the government machinery did not stop blasphemous content from reaching citizens, people like Mumtaz Qadri would continue to take the law into their own hands.

It is pertinent to mention here that the court has already directed the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to block pages or websites containing blasphemous material which according to PTA officials have already been blocked.