Claims that minorities enjoy basic rights and are equal and respectable citizens of Pakistan are turning out to be mere rhetoric, as before, as the country’s contentious blasphemy law continues to be abused to appease religious zealots.

 Asiya Bibi, a Christian labourer and a mother of five, hails from the Nankana district of Punjab. After a heated argument with her co-workers, she was accused of blaspheming the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and Qari Saleem registered an FIR against her.

A first woman to be getting the death sentence in a blasphemy case, Asiya Bibi has been in jail for over a year now. She was to be hanged on November 8, 2010, but on an appeal lodged by her advocate, the possibility of a pardon is under discussion, according to media reports.

Despite that, concerns over her safety in prison have been raised by human rights organisations, as there have been instances in the past where cellmates have attacked or killed those accused of blasphemy.

The case has brought to light a number of cases which were unreported or hidden under pressure. The quagmire facing the lawmakers is to amend it so judiciously and carefully as to not provoke a backlash from extreme factions. But human rights activists, journalists and families of the victims are demanding amendments or repeal of the blasphemy law at any cost.

In February this year, Qamar David was fined and sentenced to death in a similar case. Since his arrest in 2006 he had been waiting to be granted bail. The allegation on which David was arrested was that he hurt the religious sentiments of Muslims by sending derogatory text messages about the holy Quran and the holy Prophet (PBUH). Witnesses said that the text messages were sent in retaliation to attacks on churches by Muslims.

Sixteen witnesses were produced by David’s lawyer, Pervaiz Choudhry, who said that the SIM card through which the messages were sent did not belong to him. It belonged to a Muslim who was not taken to task at all.

Since the case came to court, both David and his lawyer have been threatened to be killed by a mob. Just recently a district and sessions court found David to be guilty of all charges against him. His family have said the judgment was biased and without any basis.

In a recent case, a man named Mohammed Faizan accused Dr Naushad Valiyani of blasphemy when the latter threw his card into a dustbin on which Faizan’s first name Mohammed was written. Half an hour into the matter, a huge mob, allegedly headed by Sunni Tehreek activists, surrounded the clinic of the Hyderabad-based doctor and created a ruckus over the issue. Repeated requests by the doctor to at least listen to what occurred were ignored. The only grace in the issue was the role of police who protected the doctor by taking him to the nearest police station. As Dr Valiyani was unable to comment, his brother, Shaukat Ali, refused to comment on the issue as well. Apologising he said that: "The issue has already put the lives of me and my family in danger and I don’t want to complicate things further, as it can be misconstrued."

In 1995 two Christian children, Salamat Masih and Rehmat Masih, were sentenced to death for blasphemy by a lower court in Lahore. They were also sentenced to two years’ hard labour and fined Rs25,000 each. It is widely considered that the charges against the children were framed on malicious intent. Their trial and ultimate acquittal led to violent repercussions, including the assassination of LHC judge Justice Arif Iqbal Bhatti in 1997.

As the cases of blasphemy have re-emerged, Kolachi talks to some of the key opinion-makers about the law and its long-term implications.

IA Rehman, Secretary General HRCP

The country’s blasphemy law, which has once again drawn the attention of the national and international media as fresh cases emerge, has been presented in the National Assembly by Sherry Rehman to be reviewed and amended. IA Rehman, Secretary General of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), says that though it is a step in the right direction the process is not going to be easy at all.

Explaining he says that since long Islam has been used as a bait to settle personal scores, one of which is the misuse of the blasphemy law. "This trend of blaming people for blasphemy increased within the past 10 years. Before that we did not hear of any such cases. The presence of this law is making it all the more difficult. And of course then we have the self-righteous people who will make a hue and cry over the amendments," he says candidly.

Calling it a man-made law, Rehman says that it is completely against the injunctions of Islam as "nowhere it is written to hang an innocent." Explaining his point of view he says that Islam teaches us to investigate and verify before blaming someone, but this part is often ignored to serve the purposes of the few.

The HRCP secretary general points out that Pakistan is not the only country where blasphemy laws are practised, yet at the same time, nowhere in the world is it used against the minorities of a country either. There are indirect suggestions to repeal the law completely but Rehman says that keeping in view the situation, where emotions of the religious faction are running high, it cannot be done, "because it will create more problems than it will diminish."

He says that the amendments should include the clause of premeditated intent as it is the most important one because its exclusion can give people the right to accuse anyone of blasphemy. Its inclusion will make sure that there is verification as to what actually happened, which should be free from any impartiality.

Moreover, Rehman is of the opinion that the minorities should be exempted from the law as they are already non-Muslims and "we cannot impose our way of thinking on them in any way." Thirdly, he suggested that the hearing of blasphemy cases should not be allowed in courts lower than the sessions court.

As lawlessness prevail in the country, he feels that the people need a respite in the form of the judiciary. "The law and judiciary are one of the few pillars the public has faith in and that should give them hope rather than scare them away."

– SB

Many members of the Christian community are thinking of leaving the country as the misuse of the blasphemy law has made the lives of the minorities extremely difficult, former member of the Sindh Provincial Assembly and community representative, Michael Javed told Kolachi.

He said that a number of Christian families have already fled the country in order to escape from what he termed as false cases being registered against the community members.

Elaborating on the controversial blasphemy law, he said that since the time the military dictator Zia-ul-Haq incorporated Articles 295-B and 295-C in the Constitution, around 117 cases have been registered against Christians, out which 62 have been lodged in Punjab, three in Sindh, two in Balochistan and one in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

"Although we want the repeal of the law, we also know that extremist elements will not let the authorities do that. The least the government can do is to make some procedural amendments in the Constitution regarding the law."

One of the suggestions that Javed puts forwards is if anyone is suspected of a blasphemous act, than an inquiry should be conducted before an FIR is lodged against the person. "A civil judge should direct a senior police officer of the area to conduct an inquiry. If the officer gathers enough proof, then only the FIR should be registered."

The former MPA said that there is a dire need for an amendment calling for an inquiry as in the current situation, FIRs regarding blasphemy cases are immediately lodged which in turn provokes the people to take the law into their own hands.

He cited an example of Muneer Masih, who was implicated in a false blasphemous case in Sangla Hills. After the registration of his FIR, clerics made announcements and urged the people to take action against the people of the community. Following the announcements, the locals of the area torched a Christian hostel.

Another amendment that Javed believes should be introduced is that when someone registers a case against someone, and if the case turns out to be false, then the complainant should be given the same punishment for which he nominated the other for.

"Christians are not blasphemous. They respect the Holy Prophet as much as the Muslims do, and they can never think of either desecrating the Holy Quran or the Holy Prophet. However, it is sad to know that the law is being misused to settle personal scores and take vengeance against one another."

Javed believes that the state of the minorities is deteriorating greatly in Punjab, where religious extremists are attacking the suspects even before the court passes a judgment regarding their case. He briefly touched upon this year’s incident in Faisalabad, where two suspects accused of blasphemy were shot by unknown people when they were being taken to the court for their hearing.

"When our churches are attacked and holy books are burnt, no one is charged under the blasphemy law, and the culprits run loose. What kind of law is this? Is its aim to target only the non-Muslims?"

– RA

"In a country where the majority is repressed, you are talking about the rights of minorities being squashed?" asks Dr Mairaj ul Huda Sidiqqui, Naib Amir of the Jamaat-e-Islami, when asked whether the blasphemy law is being misused to repress the poor minorities.

At present, a debate about the misuse of the blasphemy law and calls for amendments to it is going on. Clerics have shown their displeasure about the increasing demands to change the law as, Dr Huda points out, "it will slice off the crux of the law, which is to protect the values of Islam, among which the most important is the respect of Prophet (PBUH)."

In the same vein he points out the misuse of the law on many accounts on a daily basis, saying that when erroneous FIRs are registered no one says anything "or creates a hue and cry over that at all. But a Maulvi has to be proved wrong."

Though many analysts and experts argue that on the issue of blasphemy, the clerics are on a weak footing demanding something which they know is not constitutionally right, Dr Huda says that it is the responsibility of the courts to decide whether the law is right or not, and whether it needs to be amended. "It is not the job of people who do not know the sanctity of Islam."

On the recent amendments suggested by Sherry Rehman, Dr Huda says that many representatives get themselves elected, and then without having ample information, challenge the writ of the constitution, "The elected parliamentarians have it somewhere in their minds that the blasphemy should be repealed completely. And my question is that just to let the assembly and courts comply with their wishes, are they willing to sacrifice the wishes of more than 95 per cent of the Muslims in Pakistan?"

Contradicting his earlier statement, he explains that ‘this propaganda’ about the blasphemy law being used against minorities is completely baseless. "Within the past 20 years, the blasphemy law has affected more Muslims than minorities. Out of the 130 cases of blasphemy cases being registered, 122 were against Muslims. And any change in it is not acceptable at all."

Elaborating on his point, he says that amending the law would mean that it is okay if someone insults the Prophet (PBUH). "It will cause apathy in the society, and this is not what the people of Pakistan want."

The proposed amendments will also bring to the fore a clause regarding premeditated intent, which was discarded during General Zia-ul-Haq’s regime. Investigating premeditated intent is important in blasphemy cases. Dr Huda says that premeditated intent should be included but "one thing should be kept in mind that it is an Islamic injunction to kill a person if he insults the Prophet (PBUH) or the holy Quran."

In a recent case in which a doctor was alleged to have insulted the Prophet (PBUH) by throwing the business card of a person with the name Mohammed Faizan into the dustbin, Dr Huda says that the matter should be left to the courts to decide. "If the person accusing the other is wrong, there is a way of teaching such people a lesson and that is through Qazaf. It means that a person wrongly accusing the other is taken to task and punished. It is written in the holy Quran and is not an issue at all."

He says that sadly the true ideology of Islam is not being followed at all as the chosen representatives, rather than upholding it, are running away from it.

Dr Huda says that as a person he cannot stand his own insult at any cost, then how he can tolerate anyone abusing the name of the Prophet (PBUH). "I believe in law and order and if such cases come to the fore they should be dealt with peace and tolerance rather than taking the law into our hands. Because ultimately the person accused of blasphemy will be punished on the day of judgment."

– SB