Lahore: A Pakistani court has disposed of
petitions seeking a ban on Facebook and several other websites
for allegedly featuring blasphemous material against Prophet
Mohammed and the Quran.
The petitions were disposed of by Lahore High Court Chief
Justice Ijaz Chaudhry after Deputy Attorney General Naveed
Inayat Malik yesterday gave an assurance on behalf of the
federal government that all required steps are being taken to
block objectionable and anti-Islamic websites.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and the
Information Technology Ministry are blocking all internet
websites that feature blasphemous material, Malik said.
An inter-ministerial committee is screening websites to
block access to blasphemous and anti-Islamic material, he
said.
The Chief Justice told Malik that the inter-ministerial
committee should keep the High Court`s Additional Registrar
informed of its operations and the steps taken against
objectionable websites.
He observed that if the PTA and the Information
Technology Ministry fail to fulfil their responsibilities, the
petitioners would be free to approach the court again.
Responding to an application seeking the registration of
a First Information Report against the owners of Facebook for
allegedly committing blasphemy, the Chief Justice said police
should investigate the matter and dispose of the matter under
the law.
The petitions were filed by lawyer Muhammad Azhar
Siddique and the Islamic Lawyers Forum.
The Lahore High Court had briefly banned Facebook last
year for allegedly featuring blasphemous materials.
PTI
