Ahmadiyya Times | Staff News | Intn'l Desk
Excerpts | Pakistan | Blasphemy Laws
Asian Human Rights Commission Report 2009
"Despite vocal criticism at home and aboard, Pakistan’s infamous Blasphemy Laws remain in effect and charges of blasphemy are still punishable with the death penalty, while desecration of the Holy Quran carries a life sentence. The laws were a British colonial legacy introduced in 1885 to prohibit the instigation of religious hatred, and became part of Pakistan Penal Code as Section 295 in 1927. The provision granted equal protection to all religious groups, until General Zia ul Haq, in deference to demands made by radical Islamicists, introduced two new clauses (295-B and C) in 1982 and 1986 that specifically outlaw desecration of the Holy Quran and defilement of the name of the Holy Prophet Muhammad. The deliberate institutionalisation of the unequal status between Islam and non-Islamic religions opened the door for the perpetuation of religious intolerance by Islamic fundamentalists. According to data collected by the National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP), at least 964 persons were alleged under these anti-blasphemy clauses from 1986 to August 2009, while over 30 persons were killed extra-judicially by the angry mob or by individuals.
In April 2001 an attempt was made by the Musharraf government to amend the procedures in the registration of blasphemy cases, but he quickly withdrew the new order upon vehement opposition from Islamic fundamentalists. In August 2009 after the Gojra attack in which seven Christians were burnt alive, the current Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani again announced plans to review “laws detrimental to religious harmony” in a committee comprising of constitutional experts, the minister for minorities, the religious affairs minister and other representatives, but the government has again hesitated to initiate change due to their unwillingness to antagonize fundamentalist groups. In fact, recent cases in Pakistan suggest a criminal nexus between government authorities, police, and fundamentalist organizations, in which the Muslim clergy, on receiving bribes from land-grabbers in the National and Provincial Assemblies, colluded with local police to expropriate land owned by minorities by bringing blasphemy allegations against them. The situation is especially worrying in Punjab province after the formation of the PML-N government, which has a record of intolerant policies against Christians and Ahmadis in particular."
"Children arrested for blasphemy: In January this year four children and one man were arbitrarily arrested and charged with blasphemy for writing the name of the Prophet Muhammad on the walls of a toilet [1]. Charges were filed against them under section 295-C of the Penal Code, and family members were reportedly told that the police were compelled to act against the children by fundamentalists, who threatened to close down the whole city and attack the houses of Ahmadi sect members. Another five Ahmadis were detained on blasphemy charges in Layyah district without virtually any proof of witnesses in February"
[1] http://www.ahrchk.net/statements/mainfile.php/2009statements/1859/
Read more: The State of human rights in Pakistan in 2009
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