ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court, on Friday, waived all charges against five bloggers accused of posting blasphemous content online stating that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) found no evidence against them.
Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui observed that blasphemy was an offence that fell under terrorism but falsely accusing someone of committing this act was an equally heinous crime, Express News reported.
The judge further said there should be no further proceedings against those found wrongly accused of committing blasphemy.
The court will look into whether the petitioner levelled false accusations or the evidence was incomplete, he added.
Justice Siddiqui noted that sectarianism had become a major problem in Pakistan and the country was heading down a negative path.
FIA officials told the court that four individuals accused of posting blasphemous content had left the country and were investigated by the Interpol.
The FIA has contacted Interpol officials and the investigation has been completed. The challans will be submitted to court soon, they added.
The court ordered the interior ministry and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to prepare a joint working paper on the case.
PTA officials told the court that their web analysis wing was regularly blocking and reporting blasphemous content.