Ahmed Nadeem

L21-5393
BCS 2A-1
---------------------------------------------------------------
-----

ESSAY: THE POLITICS OF BLASPHEMY

AND ITS WIDESPRED MISUSE IN
PAKISTAN
On December 3, a furious horde lynched Priyantha
Kumara, a Sri Lankan man filling in as an administrator in a
clothing plant in Sialkot. Kumara's carcass was set ablaze out
and about over claims of impiety.
The relentless killing that brought "disgrace to the
country" revived the public discussion on obscenity in the
country. In such conversations, by and large, the Pakistani
media and common society, centers around two focuses: the
ascent of the Tehreek-I-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) from one
perspective, and the public authority's failure to really contain
its radical belief system and to nullify the disrespect
regulations on the other.
 The famous — and to some degree 'insightful' —
response to these disastrous occurrences uncovers that the
state's ability to manage such cases is frequently, while
perhaps not consistently, misjudged. There is minimal a state
can do in these issues when a significant piece of the public
might possibly be out in the city: take, for instance, the
reaction against the topic of the holiness of Prophet
Muhammad (PBUH).
Universally, the abuse of Pakistan's blasphemy law has
been named draconian and has been all over the headlines in
the recent years, particularly regarding two high-positioning
government authorities being killed due to their resistance to
the disciplines under the law. The authorities incorporated the
Clergyman for Minorities Undertakings, Shahbaz Bhatti and
the Legislative leader of Punjab, Salman Taseer who
additionally looked for the Official acquittal for a lady named
Asia Bibi who had been condemned to death in 2014 over
lewdness claims and sat in prison for a long time.
Barbarism for the sake of religion is dangerously wild in
Pakistan. From 1990 to 2021, 70 individuals blamed for
lewdness have been killed by hordes. Last month, a charged
horde put a match to a police headquarters in Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa's Charsadda region when authorities declined to
surrender a supposed blasphemer to the crowd.
 An objection frequently raised in opposition to this
regulation is the frighteningly minimum evidence imposed on
the ones accusing some other of blasphemy. “The difficulty is
that the regulation does now no longer require evidence of
purpose on a part of the accused, whilst the oral testimony of
just a few prosecution witnesses is deemed admissible for the
conviction of the accused, ensuing withinside the demise
penalty.” Moreover, in lots of cases, the accused are
frequently presumed responsible, and the burden is placed on
them to show their innocence in place of at the prosecution to
show their “guilt” past affordable doubt.
Regarding the abusive use of blasphemy regulation in
opposition to non-Muslims, America Department of State
said a complete of 1,032 human beings being charged below
Pakistan’s blasphemy regulation among 1987 and 2009.
Most of the instances were initiated in opposition to Ahmadis
and Christians, however additionally Muslims, consisting of
orthodox Sunni Muslims.
According to the 2018 Annual Report of America
Commission on International Religious Freedom
(USCIRF), strict blasphemy legal guidelines withinside U.S.
and expanded extremist interest have in addition threatened
the already marginalized minority communities, consisting
of the Ahmadis, Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, and Shi’a
Muslims. There has additionally been a growth in blasphemy
instances being introduced in opposition to Muslims compared
to different religion groups.
Section 295-C is likewise a non-bailable offence, this
means that that bail isn't always granted as a proper however
most effective on the discretion of the courtroom schedule.
However, legal rights are to be had to people who've been
denied bail if their trials or appeals have now no longer been
heard inside a year. The blatant misuse of blasphemy legal
guidelines has created surroundings wherein the legal
guidelines had been used as a cover for perpetrators of mob
violence. Many erroneous individual, consisting of the
complainants and their supporters, trust themselves to be
entitled to take the regulation into their personal hands, whilst
the police simply watch from the sidelines.
The issue of blasphemy thus becomes a question of
religious freedom because disbelief in the Holy Prophet
(PBUH) itself is being criminalized under the blasphemy law.
It follows that non-Muslims anywhere are non-Muslims
because they do not believe in the prophetic mission and
Islamic doctrine of Tauheed (oneness of God) and Risalat
(prophethood). So, what is Islam’s attitude towards non-
Muslims? Quran itself speaks of the people of the book, i.e.,
those people ( َ‫ ) ٰيََٓأيُّهَا ٱلَّ ِذين‬who are not Muslims but have received
divine guidance in form of a revelation.
 Pakistan’s constitution guarantees non-secular
freedom below Article 20. It states: “Subject to regulation,
public order and morality: (a) each citizen shall have the
proper to profess, instruction and propagate his religion;
and (b) each non secular denomination and each sect
thereof shall have the proper to establish, preserve and
control its non-secular institutions.” Here “subject to law”
seems to have given rise to all kinds of bogus legislation
abridging it, but the fact that a constitutional fundamental right
cannot be undermined in its entirely by legislation. So, the
question is whether or not in the event that a Christian or a
non-Muslim citizen propagates his or her faith (which includes
disbelief in Islamic doctrine), he or she is liable under our
blasphemy law? The answer is yes but then it is a fundamental
right of that citizen to propagate his faith under the Pakistani
constitution. Consequently, it stands to reason that the
blasphemy law is unconstitutional and liable to be struck
down.
USCIRF has additionally endorsed enacting reforms
withinside the regulation to make blasphemy a bailable
offence, requiring tremendous proof from the accusers,
permit investigating government to brush aside baseless
and unfounded accusations and criminalize perjury and
fake accusations. Until the authorities of Pakistan repeal or
reforms its blasphemy, it is encouraged to enhance the role of
the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony
to foster interfaith dialogue, empower religious minority
groups, provide security to marginalized groups and facilitate
meetings between leaders and scholars of various religions
and sects.
References:
 https://courtingthelaw.com/2020/08/23/commentary/origins-of-blasphemy-law-and-its-
widespread-abuse-in-pakistan/
 https://pakistanblasphemylaw.com/blog/2017/09/30/is-blasphemy-law-islamic-and-
constitutional/
 https://www.dawn.com/news/1149558
 https://courtingthelaw.com/2020/08/23/commentary/origins-of-blasphemy-law-and-its-
widespread-abuse-in-pakistan/
 https://www.dawn.com/news/1664535
 https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/essays/national-laws-on-blasphemy-pakistan