Are The Blasphemy Laws Relevant To Modern-Day Pakistan?

Ishtiaq Ahmed

London: July saw a religiously motivated suicide attack in Bahawalpur, killing 54 people and injuring 200. August 16 witnessed horrific religiously incited attacks on the homes and churches of  Pakistan’s Christian citizens. By placing both incidents side by side, we are pushed to pose a difficult question: Is anyone safe in our glorious Pakistan?
These incidents are an affront to the very vision on which Pakistan was founded—a safe haven and a land of opportunities for its citizens of all descriptions. It has turned out to be anything but that.
The fact that this latest incident comes a day after the country’s Independence Day celebrations, which reverberated the message of unity and togetherness, begs another painful question: How come our beloved Pakistan has arrived at this violent juncture?
The latest unfortunate incident took place in Jaranwala, in the district of Faisalabad. It erupted after some Muslims living in the area claimed they had seen a local Christian and his friend desecrating the Holy Quran by tearing the pages out of it and throwing them on the ground, and writing insulting remarks. This provoked a religiously excited mob to attack Christian homes and churches. The members of the Christian community were forced to flee their homes to save themselves. It is not the first time that this has happened. The scars of the incidents in Shantinagar and Gojara are still very fresh at least for the Christian community.
The scale of the violence prompted the government to deploy additional police forces and send in the army to help restore order. Over a hundred were arrested.
Pakistan is one of the countries that also include Iran, Afghanistan, Brunei, Nigeria, and Saudi Arabia amongst others where an act of blasphemy carries a death sentence. In Pakistan the law states “derogatory remarks, etc., in respect of the Holy Prophet either spoken or written, or by visible representation, or by any imputation, innuendo or insinuation, directly or indirectly shall be punished with death, or imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine”.
Although a death sentence for blasphemy has never been carried out, often, an accusation alone can trigger riots and incite religious mobs to grotesque violence. The incident in Jaranwala is such an example.
The cases of blasphemy, alleged or otherwise, are not confined to any particular region of Pakistan, for example, 57 cases of alleged blasphemy cases in  Pakistan, from January to May 2023 indicate the country is widespread: 28 in Punjab, 16 in Sindh, 8 in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and 8 in AJK.

Read More: https://thepenpk.com/blasphemy-incident-minority-rights-groups-call-for-thorough-investigation/
This latest incident has been rightly picked up by the international media and reported as being indicative of the growing culture of unabated violence against the country’s minority faith communities. If we place the suicide extremist attack in Bahawalpur alongside this latest attack in Jaranwala, it is further evidence of the lawless violence that has taken root in Pakistan. This negative image of the country is extremely embarrassing for the Pakistanis diaspora abroad, enjoying many of the rights and protections not afforded to the minorities in their country of identity. The perverse impact of this should not be underestimated.
The successive governments have failed to protect the Pakistani religious minorities against discrimination, inequalities, and violence. The minorities in the alleged land of ‘equals’ are perceived as a misnomer, not acknowledged and accepted as bona fide citizens. They are regarded and treated as second-class class citizens and, in many cases, not even that.
On August 14, only a day or so before this heinous incident on the 16th, the country celebrated its Independence Day with much fervor and rightly so. I am certain that many of those involved in attacking the homes and churches of Pakistani Christians were also involved in celebrating the birth of the nation of which the Christians, Hindus, Sikhs and other faith minorities were an integral part from the start.

Read More:https://thepenpk.com/responsive-policing-to-ensure-constitutional-rights-of-minorities/

Did the mobsters not think or reflect on the spirit of those historical words of Qaid-e-Azam in his speech on 11th August 1947, “You are free, you are free to go to your temples, free to go to your mosques or any other places of worship in the State of Pakistan”.
The desecration of holy scriptures and places of worship by definition are acts of gross blasphemy irrespective of faith affiliations. The law of the country, if at all, should apply equally to protect all faith beliefs and scriptures and places of worship. Hence, there is a pressing need for a review of the blasphemy law as it stands now.
Any review of the blasphemy law should address questions like; Is the blasphemy law, as it stands at present, fit for a religiously diverse society? Does it help to achieve the desired goal of national unity, cohesion, and inclusiveness?
The government response to such incidents of violence against minorities experienced in Shantinagar and now in Jaranwala is dictated by the fear of the possible backlash from the powerful Muslim religious lobby. It has always been less than adequate and it is no different this time around. The mere establishment of a joint committee to come up with solutions to prevent similar occurrences in the future is nothing more than sidestepping the crux of the issue.
It is vitally important that the authorities respond robustly to the calls from the Christian leadership for a quick investigation into the incident. Those responsible for the present mayhem should be identified and held accountable before the law to restore the confidence of the Christian community in law and order. This is of paramount importance to prevent further alienation of this and other faith minorities.
The land of equals must truly become the land of equals if it is to avoid further discord.

Besides all, the big question that needs to be asked is: Are the blasphemy laws relevant to modern-day Pakistan, and if yes, should they be inclusive of all faiths in the land? 

The author is a British citizen of Pakistani origin with a keen interest in Pakistani and international affairs.