Families of victims of a “blas-phemy gang,” which allegedly entrapped hundreds of mostly young people in fake cases to extort money, have vowed to challenge a Pakistan court deci-sion suspending a probe into misuse of the controversial blasphemy law.
The families and their lawyers say the decision by the Islamabad High Court in the national capital to overturn its earlier order about forming a commission to conduct an investigation was frustrating, so it will be challenged in the Supreme Court. On July 24, an appellate bench of the Islamabad High Court, which has jurisdiction over lower courts in the Islamabad Capital Territory, issued an interim order to overturn the earlier verdict by Judge Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan. Khan’s July 15 verdict asked the government to form a commission within one month. The commission was directed to complete the probe and submit a report within four months.
The order was in response to a petition filed by 101 families in September that alleged that a criminal network in collaboration with the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has been responsible for the arrest of 450 people on fabricated blasphemy charges. At least five accused died in police custody. Among those detained are ten Christians, according to Christian rights activists.
The families of victims will challenge the suspension in the Supreme Court, said Rana Abdul Hameed, a lawyer representing some of the petitioning families.
“The original verdict was based on merit. It’s highly irregular to issue an interim order while proceedings are ongoing,” he told UCA News on July 28. The lawyer said that the network behind the blasphemy entrapments has been exposed through live-streamed testimonies.
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