Father of Pakistani Christian girl appeals to President Zardari

nydailynews.com

The father of a young girl with Down’s syndrome, who was recently accused of blasphemy, is pleading with president Asif Ali Zardari to pardon her. Human rights groups claim that Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy law is wrongfully used to “settle personal feuds” with religious minorities.

The father of the eleven year old Christian girl who was jailed last week after being accused under Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy laws has appealed to President Asif Ali Zardari to pardon her. Rimsha Masih, who was born with Down’s syndrome, was arrested and jailed after a large crowd of Muslims gathered outside their family home and threatened to kill her and burn down the house after they discovered pages from the Koran in her bag. A neighbour had accused her of burning the pages. Under Pakistan’s blasphemy law, she could be sentenced to death if she is found guilty of insulting Islam, the Prophet Mohammad or the Holy Koran. Critics and Human Rights groups say the law has been used by Muslims to settle personal feuds and business disputes with members of the country’s religious minorities. Calls to change the law to stop its 'misuse’ have met with violent reaction. The governor of Punjab province Salmaan Taseer, a close aide to President Zardari, was murdered by his own bodyguard in protest at his support for Christian woman, Asia Bibi, who was sentenced to death for blasphemy. A few months later Pakistan’s minorities minister, Shahbaz Bhatti, a Christian, was assassinated for criticizing the blasphemy law. Rimsha’s father Misrek Masih spoke out over his daughter’s treatment with support from local Christian groups and the human rights organization, Avaaz. In an open letter released through Avaaz, he said an angry crowd had threatened to “burn her alive.” “She has Down’s syndrome and often isn’t in control of her actions, but she is charged with desecrating the Koran, and we are afraid for her life. ”She appears in court this week charged under Pakistan’s anti-blasphemy laws that carry the death sentence. I’m asking President Asif Ali Zardari, who has already called for further attention into my daughter’s case, to pardon her and to prevent other people from being persecuted under these harsh laws like my daughter,” he said. She had been arrested after she was somehow found by Muslims with pages from the Koran in her bag. “This caused an angry crowd to gather and demand that the police arrest her – some even threatened to kill her and burn down the houses of Christians. I pray that when the medical assessment is released she will be freed as she has struggled with learning difficulties her whole life,” he said. His daughter’s arrest, following the assassination of Shahbas Bhatti, had spread fear throughout Pakistan’s Christian community. “It’s such a sensitive situation that many of our Christian neighbors from our Islamabad slum have had to flee their homes,” he said. ”We are a Christian family, we respect the religious rights of others. We simply wish for the safety of our daughter and our community and wish this had never happened,” he added. Hopes of a humane outcome increased on Tuesday after a medical examination to determine his daughter’s age confirmed she was a minor and that her mental development did not match her age. Her lawyer, Tahir Naveed Chaudhry, said the examination ruled she is between 13 and 14 years old, which means her case will be dealt with by a juvenile court where she is expected to be treated with greater leniency.