In a “landmark” decision, a court Muslim-majority Pakistan has refused to affirm that criticizing the nation’s Islamic anti-blasphemy law is itself illegal.
The decision came just days ago in the ever-expanding fallout of the case of Asia Bibi, a mother who was accused and convicted of blasphemy against Islam and sentenced to death for talking about her Christian faith.
The blasphemy law – and even the discussion of its validity– has cost numerous lives in a nation where the accused often are killed by vigilantes before the court system can resolve their cases.
The new decision from the Pakistan Supreme Court said “criticizing the country’s notoriously harsh blasphemy laws is not blasphemy,” according to the Barnabas Fund, an organization that serves persecuted Christians worldwide.
The report noted political figures in Pakistan’s recent history who opposed “or attempted to amend the blasphemy laws have been violently pressured into backtracking, and several have been killed.”
The new ruling came from one such case.
It was an appeal hearing for Mumtaz Qadri, a police commando who was sentenced to death for the assassination of Salman Taseer, the governor of Punjab when he was slain in January 2011.
Authorities reported Taseer was “shot dead for criticizing Pakistan’s blasphemy laws after he had visited Christian mother-of-five Asia Bibi, who has been falsely accused of insulting the name of Muhammad in 2009.”
The Barnabas Fund said a three judge panel, led by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, “maintained Qadri’s death sentence.”
The entire appeal had been based on the claim Qadri’s murder of Taseer was justified “because he was convinced that Taseer had committed blasphemy when he criticized the blasphemy law, calling it a ‘black law.’”
“Will it not instill fear in the society if everybody starts taking the law into their own hands and dealing with sensitive matters such as blasphemy on their own rather than going to the courts,” Khosa asked.
Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, which date back 150 years, prescribe punishments, including death, for various offenses.
Over the last 30 years, 150 Christians, 564 Muslims, 459 Ahmadis (who follow a sect of Islam) and 21 Hindus have been jailed on those charges.
Currently 14 people are on death row under the law.
Violence has erupted several times when government officials have tried to tone down the law’s prescriptions. Besides Taseer, Minorities Minister Shahbaz Bahatti also was gunned down in 2011 after he sought blasphemy law reform.
“The supreme court’s statement that criticism of the blasphemy laws does not amount to blasphemy is a significant victory,” Barnabas Fund said in a report.
“While the path to full protection against the accusation of blasphemy for Pakistan’s Christians is a long one, the freedom to allow high-level debate within Pakistan itself could mark the beginning of another step forward,” the organization said.
Bibi’s case dates back to 2009, when she was accused of blasphemy after simply discussing her Christian faith with co-workers.
According to Voice of the Martyres: “On June 19, 2009 there was an intense discussion among the women about their faith. The Muslim women told Asia about Islam, and, according to VOM sources, Asia responded by telling the Muslim women that Jesus is alive. ‘Our Christ sacrificed His life on the cross for our sins…Our Christ is alive.’ She told them. Upon hearing this response, the Muslim women became angry and began to beat Asia. Then some men took her and locked her in a room. They announced from mosque loudspeakers that she would be punished by having her face blackened and being paraded through the village on a donkey.”
Police filed blasphemy charges, explaining they were forced to by pressure from Muslims.
“After a lengthy trial, on Nov. 8, 2010, Asia Bibi was sentenced to death by a judge. The judge also fined Asia $1,190 (U.S.) and told her she had seven days to appeal the decision.”
VOM noted the subsequent lives lost.
“On Jan. 4, 2011, the governor of Punjab province, where Asia lives, was assassinated by a member of his security team. Though a Muslim, Salmaan Taseer had spoken out repeatedly in favor of a pardon for Asia Bibi and for a reexamination of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws. Gov. Taseer also met with Asia in prison. On March 2, 2011, Shahbaz Bhatti, the only Christian member of Pakistan’s cabinet and another person who had spoken out on behalf of Asia Bibi, was also assassinated for his support of her.”
Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2015/10/pakistans-own-judges-blast-islamic-blasphemy-law/#6pIJHmiD1yf8YwT8.99
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