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.
Adnan writes: “@Sarah: What are you smoking on? Since when NATO and Liberal forces turned to Talibans that you are referring burning Quran?”
Maybe you are smoking the same weed the Taliban types are. The ones you always come out to support after they murder Muslims and burn Qurans… where are the Taliban types burning Qurans you ask… How about these pictures:
http://pakistaniat.com/2010/02/28/intolerance-kill s-eid-milad/
http://pakistaniat.com/2010/11/05/kp-mosque-attack s/
http://pakistaniat.com/2010/07/01/data-darbar-blas t/
Are these not blasphemous enemies of Islam?
I am proud that since its inception in June 2006 Pakistaniat has matured as a community forum,blog and a portal for Pakistan.
ATP team and contributors have lead by example in tackling difficult national debates with level-headed impartiality and intellectual honesty.
All the progressive and forward-looking intellectuals and bloggers support ATP in its endeavours for a just and peaceful Pakistani society which respects the Human Rights of all its citizens without the discrimination of race,religion,gender or language.
Asiya Bibi from Nankana is as Pakistani as any Aisha Bibi from Karachi or Peshawar.
The Constitution of Pakistan guarantees freedom of religion,provision of justice and free and fair trial and It is Asiya Bibi’s fundamental right to demand these as a Pakistani citizen.
Bangash said “Pakistan is among the most bigoted and intolerant places in the world”
It breaks my heart becuase I know, I know with every fiber of my being that there are honest to God good people in Pakistan. Good decent people who are living their lives and letting other live theirs but on the whole, Bangash speaks the truth.
Zafar Khan, you tell me to stay positive. I am trying brother, I am trying with all my might. I love this country I can’t stay silent as it is being hijacker by these crazy religious zealots. These peole think that by including the word Allah, Quran and Prophet Mohammad (p.b.u.h) in their hateful intolerant speech they are being the good stewards of their faith-they can’t be more wrong. I am all for turning the other cheek but sometimes “Loha hi lohay ko kattha hai”.
The least, the absolute least, I can do is call them for what they are: Hypocrites and to borrow Bangash’s word “Bigots”.
Oh and Adnan, I will take your opinions seriously when you display the capability of beginning a comment without using the word “Women’s Rights” That is growing old, brother, time to come up with a fresh slur that sticks.
Blasphemy laws should be repealed because they have no basis in Qur’an nor common laws.
Blasphemy laws were put in place by Evil Usurper and his cohort Brohi to squelch speech.
There is no need to amend them. Just remove them from the books.
The author of the post displayed a sense of ignorance when citing all the reasons why or how blasphemy was associated with Islam. There is no link through Qur’an. None. Zip, notta, zero, nada, no nothing. Any other association is meaningless.
We all know just because someone does something with the name of religion, does not make it part of the religion. Evil Usurper did this so that no one could stand up and say, “you cannot do this”.
Ignorant mullah has kept this under control by not allowing people to speak up in “his” masjid. But there was a need to put in place mechanisms otherwise to keep control over all those who ignored the ignorant mullah. Those who spoke up in “policy meetings”. (They do not want you to speak up in Pakistan, is that a difficult concept to understand?) Hence the laws.
However, the result was as expected by the author, ignorance poured in. I continue to get amazed at the sampling of the educated crowd in Pakistan that does not know much about Qur’an and Islam.
But I am certainly amused to read the resident ignorant. He is not only ignorant about Qur’an, but is also equally ignorant about other faiths. Seems his entire knowledge comes from few Urdu books. He translates those ideas in English because he is more educated then his even more ignorant resources. But still, it shows up with his with Urdu pronounced transliteration.
Did someone post that he files under various names? Well, he is equally ignorant under all those names.
Must say, only for ignorance par excellence, this post has been useful.
@Adnan
<<<<<<<<The main threat for them is Islam as a system rather a religion only because Islam as a political system gives equal right to every one. Those Thorah and Bible followers know ISLAM more than you learnt at home or any other Muslim<<<<<<<<<<
THIS MAKES GOOD SENSE…I AGREE:)