...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistain's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire...
police on Thursday booked organisers and participants of the Aurat March in Islamabad on the orders of a local court on the charge of committing blasphemy
...the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence to a deity, or sacred objects, or toward something considered sacred or inviolable. Some religions consider it to be a crime. In Pakistain you can commit blasphemy by looking cross-eyed at a Koran...They, however, made no arrests immediately.
The FIR was registered at the East Cantonment cop shoppe, under sections 295-A and C of the Pakistain Penal Code, which deals with ’malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion and use of derogatory remarks in respect of Holy Prophet Mohammad (PTUI!)’.
Five Peshawar-based lawyers led by Ibrar Hussain had filed a petition with the court of additional district and sessions judge Syed Shaukat Ali Shah last month seeking the registration of a case against the organisers and participants of the Aurat March in Islamabad under Section 22-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure over an alleged blasphemy.
On March 24, the court hearing the said petition had ordered the officials of East Cant cop shoppe to register the FIR against the March’s organisers.
In the FIR, the complainants said the Aurat March was held in Islamabad and other cities of the country on the occasion of the International Women’s Day on March 8.
They alleged that during the Islamabad event, the participants had uttered derogatory remarks against the Holy Prophet Mohammad (PTUI!) and other sacred personalities of Moslems, and displayed un-Islamic and obscene posters on the instructions of organisers hurting the feelings and sentiments of Moslems, including theirs.
The complainants also filed a contempt petition against the police for delaying the FIR registration.
On Thursday, station house officer of East Cantonment cop shoppe Imran Alam appeared before the additional district and session judge and presented a copy of the FIR before the court.
The court disposed of the contempt petition following the FIR’s production of FIR by the police.
The petitioners through their counsels Gohar Saleem and Ajmal Mohmand had submitted to the court that the East Cantonment cop shoppe was deliberately delaying registration of FIR despite court orders and flouting court’s orders.
Earlier, petitioners Ibrar Hussain, Israr Hussain and three other lawyers had approached the court under Section 22-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which empowers the court to act as ’Justice of Peace’ and issue an appropriate order in case of non-registration of a criminal case by the police.
The petitioners had claimed that they had approached the cop shoppe but the staff members were reluctant to register the case.
Following the proceedings, the court had ruled that the contents of the petition constitute a cognisable offence and the local police was under legal obligation to register FIR of the occurrence as per the version of the petitioners.
The court had directed the station house officer (SHO) of East Cantonment cop shoppe of Peshawar to register an FIR of the march as reported by the petitioners under the relevant law.
The Aurat March’s organisers have already filed a petition with the Peshawar High Court against the order of the additional district judge on multiple grounds.
They questioned the allegations levelled by the complainant and said no objectionable thing had happened during their event in Islamabad.
The organisers also wondered how an FIR could be registered in Peshawar when the event was held in Islamabad.
Few days ago, a high court bench had sought comments from the government and local police on that petition.
Earlier, the KP Bar Council passed two resolutions in its meeting on March 15 urging the government to take action against the organisers and different NGOs for holding the Aurat March in different cities of the country.