ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has ordered the live broadcast of proceedings in a case seeking the formation of a commission to investigate allegations of fabricated evidence in blasphemy cases.
Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, while presiding over the proceedings, remarked that the case had become a matter of significant public interest.
The judge noted that the courtroom was filled beyond capacity with many more people gathered outside, and directed the IT officials to make immediate arrangements for online streaming of the proceedings.
The court instructed the police officials to inform those waiting outside that they could watch the proceedings online, and adjourned the hearing to next week.
Earlier, the court expressed dissatisfaction over the government’s response to the petition, terming it slow and incomplete.
The matter, which affects hundreds of lives, has seen little progress since the initial directive was issued on Sept 13, 2024.
The court highlighted the interior ministry’s failure to provide a definitive statement on whether an application for constituting an inquiry commission had been received or not. Similarly, the Federal Investigation Agency had also not clearly stated whether the evidence in question had been fabricated or planted.
A key document in the petition is a January 2024 report from the Special Branch of Punjab Police, which suggests that individuals have been deliberately targeted and falsely accused of blasphemy as part of an organised blackmailing scheme.
These allegations, first raised in September last year, claim that young men and women have been entrapped in false blasphemy cases for the purpose of coercion and extortion.
According to petitioner’s counsel Usman Warraich, the Special Branch report reveals a disturbing pattern of abuse that demands urgent legal scrutiny.
Published in Dawn, March 22nd, 2025
