Formation of commission to probe blasphemy cases: IHC suspends single bench’s order

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC), Thursday, suspended a single bench’s order of directing the government to constitute a commission within 30 days to probe blasphemy cases.

A division bench comprising Justice Khadim Hussain and Justice Azam Khan issued the order in an Intra Court Appeal (ICA) filed by Rao Abdul Rahim advocate against the decision of Justice Sardar Ijaz Ishaq Khan.

In the ICA, the petitioner urged the court to declare the single-bench decision null and void, and to dismiss the original petition as inadmissible.

He maintained that the single bench exercised suo motu powers and issued directions without hearing the respondents’ version. The petitioner further argued that the original petitioners had multiple legal forums available to them, including trial courts, but chose not to approach them.

He said that forming a commission to probe criminal allegations contradicts established legal procedures and precedents set by the higher courts.

In this connection, Justice Ejaz directed the federal government to constitute a commission within 30 days to probe blasphemy cases. He issued the directions in petitions filed by the victim families seeking formation of judicial commission to investigate the cases.

The bench directed the federal government to form a commission within 30 days to investigate blasphemy cases. It also directed that the commission formed by the federal government must complete its proceedings within four months.

In this matter, the victim families, represented by advocates Abid Saqi and Usman Warraich, had petitioned the high court for the formation of a judicial commission. They mentioned a report by the Punjab Special Branch titled “The Blasphemy Business”. The report alleged that a suspicious gang had been entrapping youth in blasphemy cases and extorting money from them after filing complaints with the FIA in Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

The petitioners asserted that this gang is the complainant in nearly 90 per cent of blasphemy cases registered by the FIA. It added that operating under the name “Legal Commission on Blasphemy,” the group is said to be consisted of both men and women targeting poor and lower-middle-class Muslim families.

They revealed that a concerning pattern emerges in the FIRs: out of over 400 alleged victims, 70 per cent are young men and women in their twenties or younger while many of the victims are professionals, including engineers, Hafiz-e-Quran, and degree holders in various fields.

They further said that they had approached the federal government with a formal request dated August 4, 2024, seeking the formation of an inquiry commission on the Special Branch’s report. However, no action has been taken to date.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025