ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s top court on Wednesday directed the federal and provincial governments to initiate criminal proceedings against those issuing harmful fatwas or rulings and, in turn, advocating extremism and terrorism through public rallies.
“We direct the federal and provincial governments to monitor those advocating hate, extremism and terrorism and prosecute the perpetrators in accordance with the law,” a two-member bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Justice Mushir Alam wrote in a 43-page verdict.
The court issued a detailed verdict in a case which was filed to highlight how public life was disrupted across the country during a 20-day sit-in by far-right party Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) in November 2017.
During the sit-in, the party had occupied the Faizabad interchange which connects Rawalpindi and Islamabad, virtually paralyzing public life in both the cities.
The TLP leadership took to the streets following an amendment in the Elections Act 2017, deeming that the Khatam-e-Nabuwat oath was modified deliberately as part of a larger conspiracy. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, which was the ruling party at the time, termed the amendment as a “clerical error” and rectified it through an Act of Parliament.
“Protestors who obstruct people’s right to use roads and damage or destroy property must be proceeded against in accordance with the law and held accountable,” the court said in its verdict.
In a reference to the edicts issued by the TLP leaders during their sit-in, the court has also directed the government to prosecute “a person issuing an edict or fatwa, which harms another or puts another in harm’s way.”
“TLP sowed discord and dissension, it resorted to mob-rule, rioting and the destruction of property,” the court ruled.
The apex court has also directed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to proceed against the TLP for not accounting “for its funds and election expenses …. as the constitution empowers the election commission to get requisite information from any executive authority.”
“The responsibilities placed on the election commission by the constitution and the law must be fulfilled, they are not optional,” the court said.
Muhammad Nadeem Qasim, additional director-general ECP, said that the ECP had fully cooperated with the Supreme Court during the case and furnished all required documents as well.
“Our law department is examining the verdict and we will do whatever is needed under the law,” he told Arab News while giving no specific details about the action which will be taken against the TLP’s registration as a political party.
The court also noted that the “ambitious leadership” of the TLP provoked “religious sentiments, stoked the flames of hatred, abused, resorted to violence and destroyed property worth 163,952,000 rupees (Rs163 million).”
About the media coverage extended to the TLP, the court said it “received prime-time free media coverage and publicity, transforming it overnight into a household name.”
Analysts and legal experts said that the apex court’s verdict has charted out a framework for the government and other state institutions to handle the elements which resort to public rallies and violence in the name of religion.
“The apex court verdict will now act as a precedent to move against hardliners and fundamentalists who threaten the state organs with fatwas and demand submission before their demands,” Sharafat Ali, a senior advocate in the high court, told Arab News.
Faizabad sit-in: SC orders state to prosecute those advocating hate, terrorism
Faizabad sit-in: SC orders state to prosecute those advocating hate, terrorism
- Election Commission says it will do everything in its capacity under law
- Protestors destroy property worth Rs163mn during 20-day demonstrations
Too warm to freeze: Climate shift threatens ice hockey in Pakistan’s Hunza Valley
- Rising temperatures, falling snowfall disrupt community-run tournament dependent on natural ice
- Scientists report shorter snow seasons across Hindu Kush-Himalayan region as climate risks grow
HUNZA, Pakistan: Aleena Gul used to watch the pool beside her home in Pakistan’s Hunza Valley freeze solid each winter, transforming it into a makeshift ice hockey rink.
This year, it barely froze at all.
“If we see, there’s a big difference between 2018 and now in 2026,” said Gul, a local player whose family has hosted the community tournament for eight seasons.
“Winter used to begin in November and everything would freeze, . It’s January now and the ice still hasn’t frozen properly,” said Gul, a local player whose family has hosted the community tournament for eight seasons.
The change has disrupted a small but growing winter sports tradition in the mountainous region near the Chinese border, where residents say colder, longer winters once provided reliable natural ice.
Scientists studying the wider Hindu Kush-Himalayan region have reported fewer extreme cold events and shorter snow seasons, with snowfall increasingly failing to settle. Weather data for Hunza shows winter precipitation down by about 30 percent since the late 2010s, with some recent winters two to three degrees Celsius warmer.
That is a challenge for a region reliant on visitors, where winter tourism depends heavily on snowfall and freezing temperatures.
The community-run ice hockey tournament in Hunza depends entirely on natural ice. When Gul’s pool failed to freeze properly this year, organizers scrambled to find an alternative venue nearly two hours north, in a town close to the Chinese border.
Even there, conditions were difficult.
“I expected better ice conditions, but when I saw the rink I felt a bit sad. Many of our players fell. The surface had too many bumps and wasn’t strong,” said Yahya Karim, another player.
Of three matches scheduled on the first day, only one went ahead.
“Today, we got ready at almost around 9 o’clock. When we got called for the match, we saw that the ice was not in a good condition. So, all these things are very unexpected for us. And this is a side effect of climate change,” Gul said.
Naseer Uddin, co-founder of the youth organization SCARF, said volunteers had worked for about a week preparing the arena.
“We worked on this arena for about a week. We had planned [a match] here. Then, suddenly, when the sun came out today, so we had to switch suddenly because the ice in this arena has been spoiled,” he said.
Sadiq Saleem, president of the Altit Town Management Society, said residents were witnessing a noticeable change.
“We are witnessing a sudden shift in Hunza’s weather pattern, [both] in the snowfall and freezing [temperature] here. We are seeing a big shift in the intensity of winter here,” he said.
The girls’ match eventually went ahead, and Gul’s team emerged victorious. But the uncertainty over ice conditions has left many wondering how long the tradition can survive.
Climate change has become a growing concern for Pakistan, which contributes less than 1 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions yet is frequently ranked among the countries most vulnerable to global warming.
This week, Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority warned of an elevated risk of glacial lake outburst floods in the north as rising temperatures threaten to accelerate snow and glacier melt. Seasonal forecasts point to higher-than-normal temperatures and possible early heatwave conditions in Gilgit-Baltistan and upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, regions that include Hunza.
For now, players in the valley are making do with what winter brings. But as temperatures rise, even a simple backyard rink is no longer guaranteed.
