A local court in Karachi has directed the police to file a First Information Report (FIR) against the organizers of the Islamabad Women’s March.

The court’s order comes a day after a local Peshawar court ordered the registration of an FIR against the organizers of the march for allegedly making insulting posters with degrading words.

Karachi Additional District and Sessions Judge South passed the order on an application to the Station House Officer (SHO) City Courts Police Station against Advocate GM Arain under Section 22A of the Pakistan Penal Code against the SHO of the same police station, who allegedly refused to grant application for an FIR against the organizers of the Aurtat march.

Section 22A gives the courts the power to make orders under Justice for Peace and may order the filing of an FIR for failure to register a case.

Petitioner said he and other members of the Karachi Bar Association watched the march on a TV channel that was being broadcast from the federal capital.

He said that during the march, inappropriate words were used against religious saints and their spouses and provocative slogans were chanted.

The petitioner added that obscene and anti-Islamic slogans were raised during the march.

He said that the members of Karachi Bar Association had passed a resolution condemning such measures in the name of women’s emancipation and women’s rights by the organizers and participants.

A local court in Peshawar ordered the registration of a first information report (FIR) on Thursday against organisers of this year's Aurat March in Islamabad for allegedly making "derogatory remarks" against Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and Hazrat Aisha and displaying "obscene posters".

Judge Syed Shaukatullah Shah passed the order on a petition filed by five lawyers — Ibrar Hussain, Israr Hussain, Kashif Ahmed Tarakai, Siyad Hussain, and Adnan Gohar.

The petition was filed under Section 22-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which empowers the court to act as 'Justice of Peace" and order the registration of an FIR against an offence in case of the police's failure to do so.

In their petition, the lawyers alleged that during the Aurat March 2021 which was held on March 8, "derogatory remarks were used in respect of Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) and Bibi Aisha beside display of un-Islamic and obscene posters on the instructions of organisers which hurt the feelings and sentiments of all Muslims including [them]."

They claimed they had watched the "derogatory and un-Islamic material" while they were on the court's premises in Peshawar and had later filed an application with the SHO East Cantt but he was "reluctant" to register an FIR.

The judge stated that the petitioner's arguments were heard and the record was examined. He directed the SHO East Cantt to "register FIR of the occurrence as reported by the petitioners under the relevant law".

Doctored videos Earlier this month, a video from the demonstration held in Karachi was doctored to falsely show participants raising blasphemous slogans and widely shared online.

The orga­ni­sers of Aurat March clarified that the participants of the march did not raise such slogans and their video was edited to defame their struggle.

People also mistook flags of the Women Democratic Front (WDF) at the Islamabad March for the French Tricolour after which the organisers issued a clarification.

After protests in the capital calling for registration of FIRs against organisers and participants of the Aurat March, Minister for Religious Affairs Noorul Haq Qadri had said that "controversial material" shared on social media concerning the march was being investigated.

Aurat March has become an annual feature since 2018 and every year faces backlash from certain religio-political parties, who have been opposing the event.

The marches are organised in major cities to highlight issues facing women and condemning incidents of violence against them as well as gender discrimination, economic exploitation and misogyny.

Following this year's march on International Women’s Day, heated debates were once again seen on social media for and against the march.