UMER NAWAZ vs DEPUTY DIRECTOR FIA S — 2025 PLD 779 LAHORE-HIGH-COURT-LAHORE

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UMER NAWAZ VS DEPUTY DIRECTOR FIA S. 10---Constitution of Pakistan, Art. 199---Constitutional petition---Cyber terrorism---Scope---Blasphemous content ---Petitioners had raised serious questions of public importance with regard to uploading of blasphemous posts on different social media to ridicule holy personage and to mock the principles of Islam---Validity---World is rapidly expanding technologically and so is the case of cybercrime, which has many faces like identity thefts, hacking, financial frauds, blackmailing, pornography and above all, offences against religions---All such felonies are committed more or less conveniently, as the wrongdoer has the advantage of concealing his identity and not to leave his footsteps behind the crime---Task of lifting veil from the identity of such criminals is left to be performed only by investigators having expertise in the cybercrime---Uncontrolled evil of cybercrime has the potential to destabilize our society, which comprises upon believers of different religions, faiths and sects, mostly out of whom are not well educated---High Court directed that guidelines and instructions given in earlier cases be complied by giving them practical effect---High Court further directed that joint action plan submitted by different ministries and departments be strictly followed and a compliance report about the steps taken in pursuance thereof be submitted in High Court---High Court also directed that immediate steps were to be taken for implementing suggestions made in joint meeting of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority and Islamic Ideology Council---High Court further directed that in order to discourage false cases of blasphemy/religious hate material, it was discernible that at regional level a team of Islamic scholars from known Islamic sects be constituted---Each case of blasphemy, sectarian hatred and dissemination of anti-religion hate material be placed before such Islamic scholars so as to exclude possibility of registration of false case on account of some external pressure--Constituting team of Islamic scholars would eliminate possibility of false implication in such cases and at the same time would not let the actual culprits go scot-free---Numerical strength of officials posted in FIA to deal with cybercrimes was not compatible with the number of cases registered. Due to such reason investigations of sensitive cases including blasphemy, financial crimes, blackmailing, etc., were being delayed indefinitely---High Court directed Federal Government to enhance numerical strength of FIA officials and to establish a blasphemy cell separately to deal with relevant cases---High Court further directed Federal Government and Punjab Government to observe 15th of March of each year as Namoos-e-Rasalat Day and on the given date programs should be arranged for imparting information about the Holy Prophet and for enlightening different aspects of his life, as the General Assembly of United Nations in its 76th Session had specified 15th March as day to combat Islamophobia---Constitutional petition was disposed of accordingly.

UMER NAWAZ vs DEPUTY DIRECTOR FIA S — 2025 PLD 779 LAHORE-HIGH-COURT-LAHORE

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