Pakistan's blasphemy law is often called draconian, having taken the lives of many innocent people. The law has had its repercussions on the society. Like so many other laws, this one too is vulnerable to misuse and exploitation. It allows any individual to enforce the law on any individual.
Pakistan’s blasphemy law does not specify what blasphemy is, offers no standards for evidence, no requirement to prove intent, and no precautionary measure to punish those who make false allegations. In short, the standard for blasphemy is whatever offends the accuser.
In Pakistan, Christians are one of the most persecuted minorities. Hundreds of Christians have been persecuted under Pakistan's blasphemy law and many are even sentenced to death.
In 1998, a Christian by the name of Ayub Masih was accused of blasphemy by his neighbour. Ayub was released after his lawyer was able to prove that the accuser had used the conviction to force Masih's family off their land and then acquire the control of the property.
On September 22, 2006, a Pakistani Christian man named Shahid Masih was arrested and jailed for allegedly violating the blasphemy law. He is still in confinement and expresses fear of 'retaliation' from Muslims.
In November 2010, Asia Bibi was sentenced to death by hanging for "blasphemy". In August 2012, Rimsha Masih, (11 or 14 years old), illiterate with cognitive disabilities, was accused of blasphemy for burning pages from a book containing Quranic verses. The accuser was a Muslim cleric who himself has subsequently been accused by the police of framing the girl.
The most recent such case has been reported from Chak 44 in District Mandi Bahauddin, Punjab, where a Christian Janitor named Imran Masih has been accused of blasphemy and the local Muslims have threatened the entire Christian community of torching their houses. There are only 45 Christian families (300 population) settled in the village. All the Christian families own the piece of land they have built their houses on, yet they are poor unskilled labourers and are economically underprivileged. The only church that exists in that village is the Saint Anthony Catholic Church.
Imran Masih has allegedly committed blasphemy by watching a blasphemous video on his mobile. The accuser named Manzoor reportedly watched that video on Imran's mobile. Manzoor then told this to everyone in the village and the prayer leader Qari Imran called for the destruction of all Christian homes in last Friday’s sermon. Imran Masih went in hiding after the fatwa from the local prayer leader was announced. A mob of local Muslims have surrounded the homes of Christians. “We went to offer apologies to the Muslim villagers, but they put forth conditions for peace. They are demanding that the blasphemy accused Imran Masih be handed over to them so they can burn him alive in front of the local church,” said the Christian residents.
Local Muslim community has allegedly ostracized the Christian community and has banned selling anything to Christians. They have put forth the following condition: leave the land or embrace Islam.
SHO Zafar
However, there are different and varying accounts of the story. According to the SHO Zafar of Gojra Police Station, this is only an exaggerated version of what actually took place. According to him, Manzoor had watched a blasphemous video on Imran Masih's mobile. The video was of a Christian pastor who according to Manzoor was using derogatory and abusive words for Prophet Muhammad. SHO Zafar wasn't sure whether the video was from his own mobile's gallery or from Facebook or YouTube. "Neither of them (accused and accuser) is particularly knowledgeable about the English language, the accuser only assumed it," said SHO Zafar. According to him, Manzoor inquired about the videos to Imran and settled his complaints on the spot. "Only one person named Bilal behaved badly with Imran. He slapped Imran so hard that his mobile fell down and broke," he added. “We found that Manzoor was not even able to operate mobiles. He was not even sure whether the videos were saved in Imran's Mobile or he found them on Facebook or YouTube.”
SHO Zafar claimed that he along with DPO Raja Basharat and DSP Rana Islam had visited the village and met both the communities. "We formed a committee of both of the communities and let them talk and resolve their issues," claimed SHO Zafar. He reasserted that they found nothing contentious between the two communities and nothing threatening was said by the Muslim community to the Christians. He accused the 'international community' and NGOs for exaggerating the matter and defaming Pakistan's image.
According to civil society activist, Muhammad Jibran Nasir, SHO Zafar admitted that the whole incident had taken place but the main culprit was not Manzoor but a person named Bilal who owns a pharmacy which adjoins the Health Centre where Imran works as a sweeper. SHO Zafar told Nasir that DPO settled the issue by forming two committees which was constituted of three Muslims and three Christians. However, Jibran's own narrative and findings (which doesn't match with SHO's narrative) is that there were some who tried to register FIR against Imran Masih. He said that Bilal went to Sargodha to seek fatwa against Imran Masih because the local religious authorities refused to issue any fatwa. "It is the people of Mosque's Committees that are actually pressurizing (the people and local authorities) more than Qari Imran to take action against Imran Masih, those people include Tufail Ahmed Gumman and Chaudhry Riyaz Idra who are calling for execution of Imran Masih" claimed Jibran Nasir. He said that it has not yet been confirmed whether there has been any call for destruction of the whole village nor is there any evidence which substantiates the rumours that suggests that Christians have been presented with conditions of either fleeing their lands or convert to Islam. He said nobody has forced them to leave their homes; they themselves left their homes anticipating a possible threat. He told me that the only major problem that has taken place is that the Christian peasants are not being allowed to work and earn their livelihood. Nasir's view is that there is a lot of exaggeration and there is no talk of forced conversion.
According to DSP Rana Islam, the issue has been resolved. "Both of the communities are now at peace and having cups of tea together" he said.
Shaan Taseer, a civil society activist and son of the late Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer, strongly condemned the incident and expressed extreme anger over it. According to Taseer, the police and other local authorities are concealing the real story to avoid public obloquy and defamation. Shaan Taseer claims that the video which Manzoor watched in Imran's mobile was not of any Christian pastor but of a Muslim cleric. Manzoor stole Imran's Mobile and checked the videos. "How dare a ‘Choora’ (a derogatory word for Christians used in Pakistan) watch the sermons of our Muslim clerics," yelled Manzoor according to Shaan Taseer. These were grounds on which Imran was accused of blasphemy. "Such a ludicrous and baseless accusation can merely be a pretext for genocide of the Christian community so that the land mafia can take over their lands," said Taseer.
He accused banned outfit ASWJ (Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jamat) for abetting the mob that surrounded the houses of the Christian community. He linked its connection with the similar incidents that took place in the past. "It's a very well planed operation. A similar event took place in Joseph Colony and Kot Radha Krishna and later it was discovered that it was a land dispute, which led to the tragedy," he reminded. "We cannot forget Shama and Shehzad and what happened at Gojra. All of these operations are organized by the terrorist land mafia called Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jamat. These are the standard operating procedures of these right-wing parties," he added.
Taseer asserted that nobody has the right to force anyone to convert to Islam or flee homes and lands. He gave a strong counterblast to the conspiracy theories propagating that Pakistani NGOs are exaggerating the matter. "They say this is propaganda of NGOs funded by Western countries. I am not from any NGO. All I know is that the biggest NGO mafia of the country are the religious seminaries and madrassas who are funded by gulf countries like Saudi Arabia," he emphasized.
Taseer recalled that in 2011 the person who accused PPP's politician Sherry Rehman of committing blasphemy was an employee of Saudi embassy. He said it's a conventional way of those fanatics to counter us by making personal attacks and accusing us of being funded by western countries. "They take money not us," he said.
He added that the Friday sermon that called for the destruction of Christian houses was a serious violation of law and human rights. "The culprits can be charged with so many legal violations. For example, stealing the mobile of Imran Masih and falsely accusing him of blasphemy which endangered his life. Qari Imran and that mob can be charged with the crimes of incitement to murder, attempt to murder, intent to create grievous bodily harm and intention to seize other people's land," said Taseer.
He said it is pertinent to keep in mind that the government is not our 'ruler' but it our servant, which is elected to serve us. "Laws are made to protect us and not to protect terrorists. They are not meant for discrimination. Law is equal for every citizen, be it Deobandi, Barelvi or Shia. Enforcing the laws and protecting the lives and property of citizens is the primary duty of the state. Nobody has the right to make fun of laws."
In an answer to the question regarding Pakistan's blasphemy law, he emphasized the fact that the blasphemy law is a legislative fault, a man-made law that needs to be repealed and amended. He argues that the debate on blasphemy law was “suppressed and restrained at gunpoint by organizations like Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jamaat, Jamat-e-Islami and Sunni Tehreek". He called this an act of "putting a red line to the debate". He said, "Just because you have forcibly put an end to this debate doesn't mean you have won. Time will tell that. I say it openly that it is a grave sin to be a Pakistani and yet not to speak against such injustice and cruelty.” He maintained that it is the duty of every citizen to take action against this cruelty. "This is what all religions and ethics teach us" he added.
Lawyer and author Yasser Latif Hamdani also expressed dejection over the incident. "I’m saddened but not surprised. Our people have been kept illiterate and are therefore susceptible to mob mentality more than others," he said. Hamdani cited the pressure of local clerics as the main reason for the reluctance of local authorities. "But I am guessing there will be some action on this count soon. Establish law and order by arresting the prayer leader who is inciting violence. That is the most important thing to be done under the circumstances because state should be seen to be a guardian of the minorities". He emphasized that it is the duty of civil society activists to take action against this brutality. "To blow the whistle and create maximum public awareness about any action against any minorities," he added. "I do not wish to opine on blasphemy law as the issue here is of there being no law and order. The debate about blasphemy law needs to take place, however."
