No amendments in blasphemy law despite recommendations

DAILY TIMES

Recommendations by the Council of Islamic Ideology of Pakistan (CIIP) on the country’s most discussed blasphemy law which have been presented to parliament await the government’s response for the last several years. Apparently the government is reluctant to give a final nod due to unknown reasons. Some believe that clerics are pressing the government not to consider these recommendations. The CIIP has made these recommendations on a reference sent by the federal government in the wake of increasing complaints about the misuse of the law. According to religious scholars, the misuse of the blasphemy law was tantamount to blasphemy, and therefore a person who was guilty of misuse of this law should be punished under the same law. The council has recommended death penalty for anybody misusing the blasphemy law. “The incorrect complainant and witnesses in a blasphemy case should be handed similar punishment (capital punishment) as a guilty person,” the recommendations read. “The government should not allow anyone to misuse the blasphemy law and it should take all appropriate measures whether administrative, procedural or legislative to stop incidents of mishandling the blasphemy law.” It has also recommended only the judges of the Federal Shariat Court (FSC) hold proceedings in blasphemy cases (The FSC consists of five permanent judges and three renowned Islamic scholars). The council has recommended that police should investigate the complaint systematically before registering a case. It is also proposed that the complainant should produce concrete evidence to substantiate charges while lodging a first information report (FIR), adding that the accused should be given the right to defend himself or herself through a legal adviser. It also adds that a first-class magistrate should supervise the police investigations prior to the registration of the case. However, the council strongly opposed any amendment in the blasphemy law, particularly in Section 295-C, a far as the penalties are concerned. The proposals also authenticate the capital punishment in the light of the holy Quran and Sunnah for blasphemy. Sources said the CIIP had given several reminders to the Interior and Religious Affairs ministries in this regard, but the successive governments had not even cited reason (s) for delaying the recommendations. The National Assembly sources said the recommendations consisted of volumes of books and the lawmakers usually did not have enough time to read these books in detail. CIIP Secretary Ilyas Khan said the recommendations were always in detail, as these could only be understood in “their reference to context”. “The court judges pen down a detailed verdict to justify their decisions even on a simple matter, these are valuable proposals related to prestige of Islam and the legislators should spare some time for them,” he remarked. Talking about the validity of the proposals, he said recommendations would remain valid until and unless they were rejected by parliament. He said the recommendations were tabled in 2001 when religious scholars Dr SM Zaman, Rafi Usmani and Mufti Munibur Rehman were in the council. The council also enjoyed the support of religious scholars of all schools of thought at that time, he added. Some people, however, have different opinion and they say it is the most sensitive issue that has claimed several lives, including two top political figures. The international community was pressing the government to bring reforms in the law, but the PPP-led government seemed careful due to threats by religious parties and upcoming general elections, they added.