Pakistan’s Supreme Court has decided to constitute a special bench to prevent violence against minorities.

Justice Omar Atta Bandial requested the Chief Justice of Pakistan Asif Saeed Khosa for a consultation on setting up the bench, in keeping with a 2014 order.

The move was welcomed by Pakistan’s minority parties, but they also complained about the duration of these hearings and their failure to reach a specific conclusion.

But legal experts say that the breakdown between these hearings is due to system issues, which can lead to strong decisions too late.

The aim of the bench will be to recognise the growing incidences of violence against religious minorities in the country, as well as seek a response from the Federal Government, and submit monthly reports during the Special Government Bench hearings.

The September 2013, blasts in the All Saints Church in Peshawar which killed 81 Pakistani Christians promoted then-Chief Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jilani to order the constitution of a special bench.
The Supreme Court obliged the federal government to set up a special task force whose function was to prevent blasphemous talk about minorities of Pakistan on social networking websites and to prosecute the accused.