Pak police registers case against Facebook administration

Pakistani police today registered a case against the US-based administration of Facebook for featuring blasphemous cartoons of Prophet Mohammed on the social networking website.

The case was registered in Civil Lines police station in Lahore under section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code, which carries a punishment of life imprisonment or the death penalty.

Information about the filing of the case was provided by Deputy Attorney General Naveed Inayat Malik to the Lahore High Court, which is hearing a case related to the hosting of blasphemous caricatures on Facebook.

Malik did not explain to the court as how Pakistani police would proceed against the US-based owners and management of Facebook.

Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code states: "Whoever by words, either spoken or written or by visible representation, or by any imputation, innuendo, or insinuation, directly or indirectly, defiles the sacred name of the Holy Prophet Mohammed shall be punished with death, or imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine."
   
Malik further informed Justice Ijaz Chaudhry that according to the court's direction, the Pakistani ambassador to the United Nations had presented a resolution in the General Assembly which stated that the people of Pakistan were hurt by the publication and promotion of the blasphemous cartoons on Facebook.
     
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority too informed the court that a special committee has been constituted to monitor all websites, including Facebook.
     
Justice Chaudhry, on whose orders Facebook was banned by Pakistani authorities for about two weeks, remarked that the PTA should block any objectionable site and not wait for public complaints as "it is a very serious matter for Muslims."
     
The judge subsequently adjourned the proceedings till July 9. The case related to Facebook was taken up by the High Court after a group of lawyers sought a permanent ban on the website for hosting the blasphemous cartoons.