LAHORE: Punjab police said Wednesday they were seeking the arrest of two Christian men in Lahore on charges of blasphemy.
The case against the two young men — Haroon Ayub and Salamat Mansha — was registered last Saturday on the complaint of a local resident, said a police investigator, who said the accused persons had yet to be arrested.
He provided no further details and only said they were still investigating to determine whether the two minority Christians made derogatory remarks about the Quran and Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) during a discussion on religion.
However, Morning Star News, an online portal focused on helping persecuted Christians, reported the two were studying the Bible in Model Town Park on February 13 when a group of people approached and told them not to read the Bible in public.
When Haroon told them that they had no right to stop them, the people began questioning them about their faith and asked if they had any reading material to help them understand the Bible, Haroon’s attorney Aneeqa Maria told Morning Star News.
“On their insistence, Haroon gave them a Christian book entitled, Zindagi Ka Paani (Water of Life),” said she. “The youths took the book and left Haroon and Mansha for the time being.”
Haroon returned home a few minutes later, while Mansha remained in the park.
“A few minutes later, the people returned to the spot where Mansha was present and attacked him, claiming he and Haroon had blasphemed against their Holy Prophet (PBUH),” Maria said.
“They also summoned the park’s security and lied to them that the two Christians were evangelising to Muslims in the park and had used derogatory words for the Quran and Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).”
Maria said that someone from the group, which was led by one Haroon Ahmed, then called the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP). “TLP supporters/activists arrived, and under their pressure, the police registered a case against the two for “derogatory remarks” against the prophet under Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), punishable by death; defiling the Quran (Section 295-B), punishable by imprisonment for life and fine; and deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings (Section 295-A), punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine.”
“Mansha was taken into custody from the spot, while we have managed to obtain pre-arrest bail for Haroon Masih till February 24,” she said.
“Haroon and Mansha were not preaching to the Muslims as alleged in First Information Report [FIR] No. 61/21. In fact, they were reading the Bible and discussing it amongst themselves when a group of Muslim boys, including Ahmed, overheard them and objected to their Bible study.”
Under the country’s blasphemy laws, anyone accused of insulting Islam or other religious figures can be sentenced to death if found guilty.
While authorities have yet to carry out a death sentence for blasphemy, just the accusation of blasphemy can cause riots.
According to domestic and international human rights groups, blasphemy allegations in Pakistan have often been used to intimidate religious minorities and to settle personal scores.
Former Punjab governor Salman Taseer was killed by his own guard in 2011 after he defended a Christian woman, Aasia Bibi, who was accused of blasphemy. She was acquitted after spending eight years on death row and left for Canada to join her family.
