labelled<\/a> cleric-turned-YouTuber Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza a blasphemer, as \u201cillegal, without lawful authority, and null and void\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe court held that the constitutional body had grossly overstepped its mandate by entertaining a reference from the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) against him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The judgement stressed that under Articles 229 and 230 of the Constitution, the CII\u2019s advisory jurisdiction is strictly limited to providing guidance to the president, the governor, parliament, and the provincial assemblies \u2014 not to courts or investigative agencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe council is not a fact-finding or judicial forum, nor is it its role to determine the criminal liability of an individual, as this authority lies solely with the courts,\u201d the order stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Justice Kayani further ruled that by issuing an opinion on a pending criminal matter, the CII had violated the accused\u2019s fundamental right to a fair trial, as guaranteed under Article 10-A of the Constitution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The controversy arose after the NCCIA, which was investigating a blasphemy case registered against Engineer Mirza under Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 11 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca) 2016, sought the CII\u2019s \u201cscholarly opinion\u201d on a YouTube statement that was the subject of the FIR. Relying on the Council\u2019s advisory opinion, the agency included it in the investigation record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The petition against the CII\u2019s intervention was filed by Dr Aslam Khaki, who argued that the Council had exceeded its lawful authority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the hearings, Additional Attorney General Usman Ghuman appeared on behalf of the state, while Advocate Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Ayubi represented Dr Khaki.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While acknowledging the \u201csignificant intellectual value\u201d of the Council\u2019s interpretations of the Qur\u2019an and Sunnah, Justice Kayani stated: \u201cPast practices cannot override the clear constitutional limitations imposed by Articles 229 and 230.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The court noted that investigating agencies may seek independent scholarly opinions for their understanding, but they cannot treat the CII as a de facto court. Such opinions cannot be given legal effect in criminal proceedings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf deemed necessary, the federal government or the CII may approach parliament for appropriate amendments to expand the council\u2019s jurisdiction. Until such amendments are made, any exercise beyond the existing constitutional mandate shall remain without lawful authority,\u201d the judgement clarified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The IHC accepted the writ petition, dealt a blow to the NCCIA\u2019s reliance on the CII\u2019s opinion, and reaffirmed the judiciary\u2019s status as the sole arbiter of an individual\u2019s criminal liability.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD(National Times)- In a landmark verdict, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has ruled that the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) has no legal authority to issue opinions on the criminal culpability of individuals. In a detailed order written prior to his transfer to the Lahore High Court, Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani declared the CII\u2019s 2025 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":125305,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-125304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n
Council of Islamic Ideology has no authority to rule on criminal liability: IHC - Nation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/125304\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Council of Islamic Ideology has no authority to rule on criminal liability: IHC - Nation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"ISLAMABAD(National Times)- In a landmark verdict, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has ruled that the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) has no legal authority to issue opinions on the criminal culpability of individuals. In a detailed order written prior to his transfer to the Lahore High Court, Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani declared the CII\u2019s 2025 […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/125304\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-05T05:44:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-05-05T05:44:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Untitled-design-38-1.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"670\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"370\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"humza Jahangir\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"humza Jahangir\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/125304\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/125304\/\",\"name\":\"Council of Islamic Ideology has no authority to rule on criminal liability: IHC - Nation\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/125304\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/125304\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Untitled-design-38-1.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-05T05:44:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-05-05T05:44:19+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/27efa35fa76e99f3ad7e7397d7332c16\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/125304\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/125304\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/125304\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Untitled-design-38-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Untitled-design-38-1.png\",\"width\":670,\"height\":370},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/125304\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Council of Islamic Ideology has no authority to rule on criminal liability: IHC\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/\",\"name\":\"Nation\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/27efa35fa76e99f3ad7e7397d7332c16\",\"name\":\"humza Jahangir\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/43feedd99bd6a90080d1621b7e6604364acb673ee979d3ffe5075557c14c68b9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/43feedd99bd6a90080d1621b7e6604364acb673ee979d3ffe5075557c14c68b9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"humza Jahangir\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/author\/humza\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Council of Islamic Ideology has no authority to rule on criminal liability: IHC - Nation","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/125304\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Council of Islamic Ideology has no authority to rule on criminal liability: IHC - Nation","og_description":"ISLAMABAD(National Times)- In a landmark verdict, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has ruled that the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) has no legal authority to issue opinions on the criminal culpability of individuals. In a detailed order written prior to his transfer to the Lahore High Court, Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani declared the CII\u2019s 2025 […]","og_url":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/125304\/","og_site_name":"Nation","article_published_time":"2026-05-05T05:44:17+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-05-05T05:44:19+00:00","og_image":[{"width":670,"height":370,"url":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Untitled-design-38-1.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"humza Jahangir","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"humza Jahangir","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/125304\/","url":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/125304\/","name":"Council of Islamic Ideology has no authority to rule on criminal liability: IHC - Nation","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/125304\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/125304\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Untitled-design-38-1.png","datePublished":"2026-05-05T05:44:17+00:00","dateModified":"2026-05-05T05:44:19+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/27efa35fa76e99f3ad7e7397d7332c16"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/125304\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/125304\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/125304\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Untitled-design-38-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Untitled-design-38-1.png","width":670,"height":370},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/125304\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Council of Islamic Ideology has no authority to rule on criminal liability: IHC"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#website","url":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/","name":"Nation","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/27efa35fa76e99f3ad7e7397d7332c16","name":"humza Jahangir","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/43feedd99bd6a90080d1621b7e6604364acb673ee979d3ffe5075557c14c68b9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/43feedd99bd6a90080d1621b7e6604364acb673ee979d3ffe5075557c14c68b9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"humza Jahangir"},"url":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/author\/humza\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125304","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=125304"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125304\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":125306,"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125304\/revisions\/125306"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/125305"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=125304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=125304"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=125304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}