Efforts to curb Pakistan’s controversial blasphemous law abuse have suffered a major setback when judges halted past court orders and suspended previous court orders to establish a committee to investigate harsh misuse of laws, sources said.
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) divisional bench, which constituted Justice Kadim Hussein Somro and Justice Mohammad Azam Khan, issued a stay order after hearing preliminary debate on the appeal filed on July 15 by the leader of the “Broken Business Group” and challenged the decision of IHC Justice Sardar Ehak Ihak Kuhan.
Attorney Kamran Murtaza, representing the “blasphemous business group,” argued that the petitioner was not given full rights to the hearing, raised concerns about jurisdiction and said it was involved in 400 cases beyond the jurisdiction of the IHC.
Murtaza, a Pakistani senator of the right-wing Islamic party, argued that Jamiat Ulema e Islam (JUI-F) also had argued that it rests solely on the federal government to form such a committee on the legal authority of the court.
Following the initial hearing, the High Court reserved a ruling on the appeal, but suspended the 30-day single bench order.
The suspended single bench order was part of a nine-page detailed judgment seeking the formation of an investigation committee at 42 hearings in 101 petitions filed by the families of profanity business gang victims, and part of a detailed judgment by Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishak Khan.
The court directed the federal government to establish an investigation committee within 30 days after an astonishing revelation that some Christians, including them, are locked up in the digital content of doctors, forced to confess or falsely accused of resolving their personal scores.
Noting that nearly 400 initial information reports (FIRs) and around 700 suspects are linked to online blasphemous asp cases, the judge highlighted the need for profanity business groups and the Federal Investigative Agency (FIA) to investigate the need to properly forensic analysis and procedural misconduct.
The court noted that some FIRs were registered and investigated on the same day, violating the FIA’s own standard operating procedures. Most wonders were reports of deaths in detention of four suspects of blasphemy, with one video showing signs of torture, and in these cases no judicial or administrative investigation was conducted.
Conclusion that the issue was in “clear public interest,” the court justified the formation of committees as necessary to ensure transparency, accountability, and protection of fundamental rights.
It directed the federal government to establish a committee of four, including retired judges, senior FIA officers, respected religious scholars and cybercrime experts. The committee is to submit a comprehensive report within four months, with all procedures being broadcast live to ensure transparency.
Repulsion from Muslims
Judge Ejaz Ishaq’s decision sparked an immediate backlash.
Several hard-line clergy and religious groups have openly rejected orders to form committees, labeling them as “non-Islamic” and sought to stir public sentiment about the judiciary.
Through sermons, social media campaigns and official statements, they urged their followers to challenge the court’s powers, portraying the initiative as an attack on Islamic values, and warning the government of implementing the decision.
The pressure and legal appeals led to the suspension of the verdict by the two-member division bench, which halted the formation of the committee awaiting further proceedings, Christian rights advocates said.
“Hafiz Saad Rizvi, chief of extremist religious parties, has publicly criticized Justice Ejaz Ishak’s decision,” a supporter said, which has been named for security reasons. “He also stoked public sentiment towards the formation of a Judiciary Committee and threatened the judiciary by bringing together opposition by making reference to prominent cases such as Mumtaz Qadri, the assassin of former Punjab governor Salman Tayser.”
Jui-F’s supreme leader, Maulana Fazlur Rehman and the Lahore High Court Bar Association, also openly opposed the court’s decision, warning Justice Ejaz Ishaq Khan to withdraw the order and warned him to threaten serious consequences if he did not do so, supporters said. Attorneys and activists supporting the victim’s families were also threatened by violence, he added.
“With the suspension of the committee order, the future course of the case is now uncertain,” he said. “However, this case raised serious questions about the use of the role of blasphemous law, judicial authorities and religious influence in legal processes. We are now considering the courts and government to see how they respond to appeals.”
A Christian lawyer who represented several victims of alleged ASP, told the Christian Daily International Morning Star News that Judge Ejaz Ishak’s orders provided a faint light of institutional courage.
“The fact that some Muslim lawyers pursued the case despite significant personal risks, and that the judges themselves chose to touch on this unstable issue, speaks of the moral clarity that is too often missing from our judicial system,” said the lawyer named for security purposes. “Through Live Propings, people have seen firsthand how allegations of blasphemy are used both political and personal weapons and the consequences.”
But the suspension of Khan’s orders by the same court’s department bench is just as intrusive as it is dangerous, he said.
“The suspension of the order makes the system want to look away from victims, rights advocates and honest civil servants, even in the face of overwhelming evidence and public interest,” he lamented.
The lawyers emphasized that the judicial system should not allow its actions or omissions to protect those who exploit religious feelings for power, interests, or politics.
“Pakistan cannot afford another lost opportunity to protect its citizens from persecution,” he said. “Justice was finally given the opportunity to fight, but pausing it now does not serve anyone but predators. Should the nation be asked who his interests are protected by halting the fact-discovery mission to the matter of life and death? If we can’t investigate the truth, we cannot argue that we support justice.”
Pakistan ranked 8th on the 2025 World Watchlist, where it’s the hardest place to become a Christian.
