Pak court may block FB to prevent blasphemy

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad high court is considering blocking social media sites like Facebook to prevent dissemination of "blasphemous" content against Islam.The court will take the decision on March 27.

Blasphemy against Islam is punishable by penalties ranging from fine to death in Pakistan. While hearing a petition, IHC chief justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui said, "Block Facebook till the issue is resolved." "We don't need social media if it cannot stop blasphemy ." The petition heard by Justice Siddiqui was filed against five bloggers, Salman Haider, Ahmed Waqas



Goraya, Asim Saeed, Ahmed Raza Naseer and Samar Abbas who have been accused of spreading blasphemous content through FB.The five bloggers recently went missing. The Federal Investigation Agency informed Siddiqui that a case was registered against the "blasphemers". "One person was also arrested on suspicion of spreading blasphemous content," the director general of FIA told the court.

He said that around 70 people running controversial pages on social media had been identified but many of them were living abroad. He said the FIA had contacted Facebook and Interpol.