US blogger appeals judge's FIR order.

ISLAMABAD -- US blogger Cynthia D. Ritchie on Thursday filed an appeal against the directive of a court to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to proceed against her in connection with the case of defaming former prime minister Benazir Bhutto on social media.

On June 15, additional district and sessions judge Mohammad Jahangir Awan had on a petition filed by Pakistan Peoples Party leader Raja Shakeel Abbasi directed the FIA to register a criminal case against Ms Ritchie.

Advocate Imran Feroz Malik, counsel for Ms Ritchie, filed the appeal against the judge's order before the Islamabad High Court.

He contended in the petition that the sessions judge 'has ignored the fact that under the FIA laws, registration of an FIR is not mandatory, it's always subject to the result of an inquiry, and the FIA has been vested with the power to refuse to register the FIR if during inquiry the information is found to be false, hence an order directing...