Abuse of Blasphemy law

EDITORIAL:Daily Times

Rampant abuse of the Blasphemy law continues to cast its dark and long shadow across the country. Scores of people have fallen victim to the inadvertent mischief cocooned in the law, largely because of its wrongful application, either to settle personal scores or to secure personal gain. The murder of 80-year old Iqbal Butt, who was recently released from jail on his acquittal after being found innocent of the charge of blasphemy levelled against him by the prayer leader of a Farooqabad mosque, Maulvi Waqas, illustrates how the law continues to be misused, and how it has become a major cause of strife and social disharmony. According to Javed Butt, a stepson of Iqbal Butt, Moulvi Waqas had accused his father of blasphemy some time ago just to settle a personal score with him after the two had exchanged harsh words during an argument. Moulvi Waqas and an unidentified accomplice of his chased Iqbal Butt on a motorcycle, and shot him dead.

The misuse of the blasphemy law springs from its semantic or interpretative ambiguity and the lack of protection against false accusation. The charge of blasphemy, true or false, is extremely emotive in our highly polarised society riven by intolerance. The biggest flaw in our legal system rests on evidence obtained from witnesses through coercion or inducements. A hostile or motivated witness can, therefore, do the greatest harm to the ends of justice. The murder of an accused, as in the present case, who has been acquitted by a court, is the greatest travesty of all. Deterrent legislation needs to be enacted against false accusation of blasphemy. The law owes its current defective shape to Zia and Nawaz Sharif, which needs to be amended to overcome the existing lacunae. Salmaan Taseer’s tragic murder in broad daylight, the self-confessed murderer’s public ravings and the response they received in certain misguided sections of society are reflective of all that is wrong with this law as it stands. The law needs to be amended to provide protection against false accusation, with penal sanctions against false accusers