The ghastly murder ofa Sri Lankan man for blasphemy in Sialkot has shamed us all. The brutal killing drew widespread condemnation from government officials and human rights bodies. Religious extremism in society has raised questions on the law and order situation which has deteriorated so much that no one anywhere is safe. Intolerance in our society is on the rise and many look down upon dissent and disagreement. People seem to have little taste for frank debate.
As a country born out of a two-nation theory (that Hindus and Muslims are different nations) with Islam as its raison d’etre, it was perhaps inevitable that faith-related problems would challenge its very existence. While it is General Zia-ul-Haq who is largely responsible for the spread of religiosity in Pakistan, the seeds were sown by the first prime minister and the constitution of the country. It was Liaquat Ali Khan who defined the character of the state as Islamic through the preamble to the constitution known as the “Objectives resolution”. However, after the July 1977 military takeover, General Zia got down to the business of Islamization which included the addition of sections B and C to the Pakistan Penal Code 295 (commonly known as the blasphemy laws) the victim of which was primarily non-Muslim. Since then many have been killed on the suspicion of blasphemy, either by enraged mobs or individuals in prison.
There is no doubt in the fact that mob-induced violence is prevalent across the cultures. Pakistan too has received spells of mob violence in the form of lynching. We have seen people convicted, lynched, shot, and knifed to death, and mob attacks on entire community merely on the suspicion of blasphemy with most culprits getting away scot-free. That the enactment of the blasphemy laws in its present form by the Zia regime and its unchecked misuse makes non-Muslims live in an atmosphere of unending fear is an understatement. The arbitrary application of these laws has squeezed the space for enlightened debate on the issue related to religion, and deepened extremism and bigotry in the society.
The murder of Punjab governor Salman Taseer by a member of his security detail in 2011 for supporting changes in the law to stop its misuse is justly referred to as a waterwash in the country’s history. The abuse of the law against the innocent, as pointed out by the Supreme Court of Pakistan, is impossible to stop in the absence of adequate safeguards against its misapplication or misuse by motivated persons. It’s time for our politicians to stand up to defend the vulnerable from the law’s misuse. Parliament must gather the courage to talk about these issues. This trend must come to an end, and our lawmakers must unite to find the solution so that more innocent citizens do not suffer. Those responsible for Lankan man’s lynching must be dealt with in accordance with law. Time has come to deconstruct and counter the extremist ideologies prevailing in the society.
Going back in our history, the first case of false blasphemy accusation came to public attention was that of Niamat Ahmar in 1992, a 45-year-old Christian school teacher in Faisalabad, who was stabbed to death by a student. According to the subsequent reports, he was targeted for refusing to be transferred to another town; his position in the government school was desired by a Muslim teacher. Shantigar in 1997, Gojra in 2009 and Joseph colony Lahore in 2013 are examples where crowds have been instigated to attack entire neighbourhoods of Christians allegedly by property grabbers. In all these cases no one was convicted. The acquittal of Shafqat Emmanuel and Shagufta by the Lahore High Court underscored the deeply problematic and growing misuse of the blasphemy law. After spending seven years in jail, following the handing down of a death sentence to them by an additional district and sessions judge, the Christian couple was acquitted of charges of sending a blasphemous text message to the complainant, a shopkeeper identified in some news reports as a mosque cleric. Asiya Bibi spent almost a decade in solitary confinement before the Supreme Court overturned her death sentence. The inhuman killing of Mashal Khan on a false blasphemy charge is another example of the misuse of these laws. At the moment, there are several individuals convicted of blasphemy by lower courts, and awaiting justice from the high courts.
The murder of Punjab governor Salman Taseer by a member of his security detail in 2011 for supporting changes in the law to stop its misuse is justly referred to as a waterwash in the country’s history. The abuse of the law against the innocent, as pointed out by the Supreme Court of Pakistan, is impossible to stop in the absence of adequate safeguards against its misapplication or misuse by motivated persons. It’s time for our politicians to stand up to defend the vulnerable from the law’s misuse. Parliament must gather the courage to talk about these issues. This trend must come to an end, and our lawmakers must unite to find the solution so that more innocent citizens do not suffer. Those responsible for Lankan man’s lynching must be dealt with in accordance with law. Time has come to deconstruct and counter the extremist ideologies prevailing in the society.
