In June 2008, Asiya Bibi, a Pakistani farm worker and mother of five, fetched water for others working on the farm. Many refused the water because Asiya was Christian. The situation got ugly. Reports indicate Asiya was harassed because of her religion and the matter turned violent. Asiya, alone in a hostile environment, naturally would have attempted to defend herself but was put in police custody for her protection against a crowd that was harming her.
However, that protection move turned into one that was to earn Asiya a death sentence. A case was filed against her under sections 295-B and C of the Pakistan Penal Code, claiming that Asiya was a blasphemer. Her family will appeal against the judgment in the Lahore High Court.
The Asiya case raises the fundamental question of how Pakistan’s minorities have been left unprotected since the passage of the blasphemy law.
There may have been no hangings on account of the law but it has facilitated the spread of intolerance and populist rage against minorities, often leading to deaths. There is also a direct link between the Zia-ist state’s intolerance against minorities and the rise of criminal treatment of Ahmadis.
Cases have ranged from the Kasur case to the more recent Gojra case, from the mind-boggling row of cases between 1988-1992 against 80-year-old development guru Dr Akhtar Hameed Khan, to the case of the son of an alleged blasphemer, an illiterate brick kiln worker who was beaten to death by a frenzied mob.
Although doctor sahib faced prolonged mental torture, he was saved from the maddening rage that has sent to prison, and in some cases devoured, many innocent, poor and hence unprotected Pakistanis.
There is a long list, prepared by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, of unjust punishments handed down to Pakistani citizens whose fundamental rights the state is obliged to protect. Beyond punishments, minorities live in constant fear of being lethally blackmailed by those who want to settle other scores.
Yet most political parties have refrained from calling for the law’s repeal or improvement in its implementation mechanism.
When, in the early 90s, I asked Nawaz Sharif sahib to criticise the hounding of Dr Khan, his response was a detailed recall of the story in which Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) went to ask after the health of a non-Muslim woman who repeatedly threw garbage over him. He condemned what was happening but said politics prevented him from doing so publicly. Later, General Musharraf, advised by other generals, reversed his announcement of changing the law’s implementation mechanism. Small crowds protested against it. Among politicians, very few exceptions include the PPP parliamentarian Sherry Rehman and, more recently, the ANP’s Bushra Gohar, who asked for its amendment and repeal.
Already sections of the judiciary have been critical of flawed judgements passed by lower courts in alleged blasphemy cases. Recently in July, Lahore High Court Chief Justice Khawaja Sharif quashed a blasphemy case against 60-year-old Zaibunnisa and ordered her release after almost 14 years in custody. According to the judgment, the “treatment meted out to the woman was an insult to humanity and the government and the civil organisations should be vigilant enough to help such people.” Surely the Bench should know the plethora of abuses that Pakistan’s minorities have suffered because of an evidently flawed law.
A message more appropriate, perhaps, would be to repeal the black law that grossly undermines the Constitution of Pakistan and indeed the teachings of Prophet Muhammad, one of the most tolerant and humane law-givers humankind has known. This environment of populist rage, fed by the distorted yet self-serving interpretation of religion principally by Zia and a populist mixing of religion and politics by a politically besieged Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, must be emphatically challenged. A collective effort to roll back these laws must come from parliament, the lawyers’ forums, the judiciary, civil society groups and the media.
This was originally published in The Express Tribune.
@AKB,
problem with these wannabe liberals that at one side they don’t wait a moment to issue a fatwa of calling others extremist while on other hand they behave same. For instance, this hina girl, at one side she calls me a “Supporter” of Taliban hence extremist or saying ghisi pity thing while on other hand she out-rightly reject opponents and repeat same Ghisi Piti things which Adil and Co started 4 years back which later followed by other wannabe liberals. So “spare” them. :-)
How could someone be trusted and taken seriously who praises crook like Salman Taseer who was in cabinet of Musharraf, the Musharraf who passed the filthiest remark for Pakistani women when he said that Pakistani girls like to get raped so that they can go in other countries, He was referring Dr.Shazia and Mukhtaran Mai. I know Hina has very limited knowledge and hardly follows Int’l news but there should be some limit of ignorance.
@Hina Bibi, you do sound like a brainwashed youth which is no differ than the youth who are brainwashed to get exploded. The only difference is that you wear modern outfit and can talk “New things”, they can’t. You were victimized by Western “Mujahids” who daily show you something which triggers your mind while those young suicidal kids are shown the movies to take the revenge of their elders who were killed by secular dictator Musharraf.
What do you refer as Talibans are not Talibans at all. I consider Afghan Talibans are real Talibans and I do respect their movement to kick out USA from Afghanistan. Does it irk you if US gets failed?
Try to be sensible for a moment and ask yourself who’s harming those guys more,ppl like you,me and those who got killed or politicians? Why don’t we hear that some guy got exploded near President House? why did not we hear some Minister got killed by Talibans? why Rehman Malik is still alive? The point is that it’s all political game which young kids like you can’t grasp at all. In 80s we were bombard with Shia Sunni conflict and now 9/11 gave us a new excuse. Such dramas are used to have political gains. Pak Army is only be targeted because Army is busy to threaten our “Enemies” thus these “so called Talibans” have came out as the best excuse to cover up political agendas. Rehman Malik or PPP govt now get Lashkar-e-Jhangvi as another excuse to blame things. Not surprising. How a shia govt can tolerate LeJ people while they know how Haq Nawaz Jhangvi exposed the filthiest plan of Khomeni to promote Shiaism in Pakistan. So naturally, for them, every anti-Shia element is an enemy or.. a terrorist. :-)
I don’t know why did I even consider you and other liberal kids worthy enough to be answered but now I have got back to you again..I believe I have said all..
p.s: If get time then try to study a bit about “Committee of 300”. It would help you to learn a bit about things happening around.
p.p.s: I am not handed over million of dollars every month by “Talibans” to “support” them..had it been like that I would not have wasted enough time on people like you :>
@ Sarah
apropos to response to Adnan…
Adnan may be mistaken but calling him a liar is tooooo much!! Invariably, you carp on him like an extremist!
When somebody foreign destroys someone\s houses and land and kills their innocent relatives what do you expect them to do?? Sit pretty and take the beating??
Talibans are mostly Pathans or Afghanis and it is in their blood to avenge the murder of their folks….no wonder.
In doing that they think the allies of their enemies as good as enemies themselves and thus go all out to kill others by ‘default’…that is what the coalition drones are doing but you are blind to that….
Sharia??? What is YOUR Sharia?? Let me know and i promise I will try to follow it IF it conforms with the Quranic teachings…
Come on, show us the right way….as you behold it!! Or just you shut up!
I am all ears..
If I am given a rupee for every time a Pakistani blames his/her misfortunes on Americans/Indians/Israelis/ “Khufiya Haat”/Alain from Mars
I will be milti billionaire ten times over!
Wohee ghissa pitta record!
Come one, People! how long till we play the victim, it only highlights our own weakness and let our enemies snicker at us and dismiss us as perpetual complainers and whiners.
We are a 63 year old nation- its high time we discard the role of victim, clean up our own house before claiming that every body in the world is out to get us.
Brother Adnan, you are assuming that everyone who disagrees with you watches HT and AIWL, I am also going to make an assumption and a recommendation : You need to cancel your subscription to “Conspiracy Channel” as soon as possible.
@
Tasleem says:
[[[[[[[[Hina and others. Why is this not something that should be taken to the Supreme Court, even if the Supreme Court does not take it up themselves?]]]]]]
not a bad idea at all.
Those who are bent to talk ill about others are afraid of blasphemy laws. Unfortunately Hina and her like are among those… they forget that blasphemers were punished even before the passing of the blasphemy laws…
Nobody is oppressing the minorities in Pakistan…they drink from the same tap and eat in the same dishes we Muslims do…..in fact some non-Muslims are better off than most Muslims in the country….
And, if someone thinks that the blasphemy law is being misused then can they tell me which law here is not being misused and abused?? Rulers have screwed the Constitution itself and the judiciary among other draconian civil laws…
An Allah Ka Banda will always be there to protect the name and honor of his faith and its adherents…this shouldn’t surprise deviates like Heena…hein na??
Did anyone wonder that only Pakistani Talibans are attacking Masaajid and shrines and public places. Afghan Taliban are targeting government officials and installations only.
the reason for this disparity is that Afghani taliban are resisting the western occupation and are genuinely struggling to set up an Islamic state (good or bad, that is a separate issue). But who are Pakistani Talibans???
The attacks on Pakistan military started as a pakhtoon’s revenge of the innocent people’s killing in drone attacks and military operation. But very quickly anti-pakistani forces from east of Pakistan and western world capitalized on the window of opportunity by funding the criminal minded tribesmen to build armies and create atmosphere of fear and harassment across pakistan.
Pakistani talibans are just mercenaries brainwashing young minds. their only link with islam and sharia is their own objective to defame and malign islam and muslims by terrorism in the name of talibans.