Pakistan’s Interior Minister Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan on Thursday said the government will make efforts to block blasphemous content against the global Muslim community on social media, reported Dawn. “I am surprised that no other Muslim country has raised this till now,” Khan said, adding that such content has been on social media websites for years.
Khan said the Federal Investigation Agency was able to figure out whenever such content is uploaded from within Pakistan. However, since the matter was international, the FIA has been asked to find a lawyer who understands international law and can fight the case for Pakistan.
He said social media service providers, including Facebook, should share with Pakistan the information of the people posting such content. “We are working on both tracks to ensure that those who have committed crimes do not get away scot-free while the innocent do not get sucked into the matter,” Khan said.
The Pakistan Interior Minister said the government had also asked the Facebook administration to cooperate in their fight. There have been repeated appeals to block social media in Pakistan. He said several blogs containing such content had already been removed. No one should mock a religion in the name of freedom of expression, Khan was quoted as saying by Radio Pakistan.
On March 14, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and said that blasphemy is an “unpardonable offence” and such content on social media is a “nefarious conspiracy to hurt religious sentiments of the entire Muslim umma”.
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