The Council of Islamic Ideology urged on Thursday Supreme Court judges to review their judgement in the ‘proscribed literature’ case and address its concerns.

“The entire nation is in distress because of the July 24 decision,” the CII said in a statement. “It is a matter of faith and love for the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him), rather than just a legal issue.”

Last month, the Supreme Court accepted the Punjab government’s plea to revisit its Feb 6 order in the Mubarak Ahmad Sani case and declared that the right to profess religion and religious freedom, as ensured by the Constitution, is subject to law, morality and public order.

The court issued a 27-page judgement on a set of review petitions filed by the prosecutor general of Punjab and other individuals as well as organisations against the afore-mentioned case order that led to a controversy and a malicious campaign against Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa.

The Feb 6 decision of the court overturned the conviction of Mubarak Sani, who was accused of an offence under the Punjab Holy Quran (Printing and Recording) (Amendment) Act enforced in 2021. But the FIR alleged that the petitioner had done this in 2019 when it was not an offence. The apex court set aside the impugned orders and ordered immediate release of the petitioner.

The CII statement was issued after its members met in Islamabad. CII Chairman Allama Muhammad Raghib Hussain Naeemi presided over the meeting.

The council expressed its reservations on several aspects of the SC’s decision in the Mubarak Ahmed Sani case and added that it would soon submit a detailed report to the apex court in this regard.

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According to the council, there were many aspects of the decision that the respected Ulema and the CII did not consider correct according to Islamic injunctions.

While requesting the judges to review the judgement, the CII said: “All segments of society should strive to resolve it through mutual understanding.”

It hoped that the SC would review the decision soon and the government, especially the prime minister, “would play an effective role” in the matter in all respects.