LAHORE: Justice Shahid Waheed of the Lahore High Court (LHC) Wednesday sought replies from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), Ministry of Information Technology, Interior Ministry, federal and provincial governments on a petition seeking removal of blasphemous material from social media.
The court ordered the respondents to file replies until April 25.
The petition was filed by Zafar Iqbal, a resident of Ichhra. Counsel for the petitioner submitted that blasphemous material was being spread on social media but the authorities concerned were silent over it instead of taking any action. He said that the bloggers who were allegedly involved in such material were helped flee abroad.
He said that the Ministry of Information Technology and PTA authorities had allegedly failed to monitor and block profane content from social media. He requested the court to order authorities concerned to remove such material from social media.
Separately, a divisional bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) Wednesday directed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader in Punjab Assembly Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed to appear in person in a petition against inordinate delay in the completion of Bab-i-Pakistan project.
The bench by observing that the court wanted to know whether the opposition leader had raised the matter in the assembly before filing the petition directed counsel for petitioner Sheraz Zaka to ensure presence of his client on May 31.
The court also directed the Punjab chief secretary to submit a reply till next date of hearing.
Earlier, a single bench had termed the petition not maintainable. The bench had also asked Mehmoodur Rasheed to raise his voice against alleged malpractices of the government on the floor of the House instead of approaching the court.
Mehmoodur Rasheed, however, challenged the single bench order. Counsel for petitioner Sheraz Zaka said that that the contract for construction of Bab-i-Pakistan was granted to Amjad Mukhtar Associates Limited for consultancy services in 1991 by the then prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
He submitted that the construction of Bab-i-Pakistan project was almost completed by 60 percent but now it was demolished after 26 years, which he said was wastage of taxpayers’ money.
He said that the “government had awarded the contract on its own whims to some other firm whereas the previous consultant had been deprived of providing consultancy services, which was against the principles of transparency”.
