The Federal Shariat Court (FSC) on Monday sought a reply from the Ministry of Law on issue of declaring the controversial 295-C of the blasphemy law a cognisable crime.
A three-member bench of FSC began the hearing of the case. The applicant Dr Aslam Khaki said that the court had already decided in Dr Ismail Qureshi case in 1991 that the violation of 295-C would be punishable by death.
However, according to law, court decisions could not be used as cognisable crimes in Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).
For this purpose the amendment in the law was felt.
He said that the power to release any accused under blasphemy law should be shifted to FSC instead of high courts as the judges of high courts were not well-versed with Islamic law, whereas the judges of FSC had better knowledge regarding Shariat law.
The court accepted the application for hearing and postponed the proceedings for an indefinite period.
