Anchor Orya Maqbool Jan was taken into custody by the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) Cybercrime Wing in Lahore on Thursday, as reported by a private news outlet.
Azhar Siddique, Jan’s lawyer, stated that his client was arrested in connection with social media posts related to the Mubarak Sani case. Currently, Jan is being held at the FIA Cybercrime office located in Gulberg, Lahore.
Siddique expressed concerns over the lack of transparency, noting that they have not been provided with the details of the First Information Report (FIR). “We have not been informed about the specifics of the FIR, and we believe the FIA does not have the proper jurisdiction in this matter,” Siddique said, adding that they are preparing to present strong arguments to challenge the charges.
Jan is anticipated to be brought before a judicial magistrate later today.
The Mubarik Sani case
In February 2024, the Supreme Court granted post-arrest bail to Mubarak Sani, an Ahmadi accused of violating the Punjab Holy Quran (Printing and Recording) (Amendment) Act 2021 by distributing the banned book Tafseer-e-Sagheer.
The court noted that the alleged violation occurred in 2019, before the act was criminalized in 2021, and pointed out that the maximum penalty for the offense was six months, while Sani had already been in custody for over 13 months.
This ruling sparked significant backlash from religious groups, who condemned the judgment and accused the Supreme Court of allowing Ahmadis to freely propagate their religion. In response, the Supreme Court issued a press release denouncing the campaign against its judges and the judiciary, urging critics to pursue a review petition instead of engaging in public criticism.
Following the controversy, the Punjab government, represented by Additional Prosecutor General Ahmad Raza Gilani, filed a review petition, arguing that the Supreme Court’s decision was based on incorrect assumptions of key facts. Several religious parties also submitted review petitions; however, the Supreme Court limited their hearing rights, directing them to focus their arguments on constitutional and Islamic legal principles.
Additionally, the Supreme Court issued notices to 10 religious institutions, including the Council of Islamic Ideology, seeking their input on issues related to Islamic jurisprudence.
In a partial acceptance of the review petition, the Supreme Court reaffirmed that the fundamental right to freedom of religion is subject to law, public peace, and morality. However, the court rejected the petitions that sought to overturn Mubarak Sani’s bail.
SC to hear appeals today
The Supreme Court is hearing the Punjab government’s appeal today (Thursday) against the court’s July 24 verdict in the Mubarak Sani case.
The appeal, submitted through the prosecutor general of Punjab on Saturday, requests the Supreme Court to revisit its February 6 order. This order had declared that the right to profess religion and religious freedom, as guaranteed by the Constitution, is subject to law, morality, and public order.
The application was promptly scheduled for a hearing before a three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa, Justice Irfan Saadat Khan, and Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan.
The application highlights that some prominent clerics and parliament members have urged the federal government to approach the Supreme Court and seek corrections in certain portions of the judgment. Specifically, the three-page application points out that paragraph 49 needs to be omitted and corrected. The July 24 judgment had held that the Federal Shariat Court’s 1985 verdict in the Mujib-ur-Rehman versus the government of Pakistan case, along with the Supreme Court’s 1993 ruling in the Zaheer-ud-Din versus the State case, were binding precedents and that the apex court had not deviated from these precedents in its February 6 judgment.
