Blasphemy in Pakistan

The Blasphemy law in Pakistan is a shameful relic of the British Raj's 1860 Criminal Law. It was modified in 1926 before Pakistan was born, and again as recently as in 1986 and in 1991 when criminal law was Islamicised by the then dictatorship. Now, under the regime of Islamic punishments, the evidence required is 'at least two Muslim adult male witnesses who are supposed to be truthful persons who abstain from major sins'. It is required at the trial that the Presiding officer must be a Muslim. Islamic law of evidence declares that the evidence recorded by minorities and women has a status inferior to that of Muslim men.

In the case of Blasphemy, very often the accused is murdered either in police custody or even in the court  room itself by blood thirsty zealots. Sofew cases are even brought to fruition. General Pervez Musharraf's  recent attempts to improve the law has been met with vehement opposition from the clerics, and he
immediately climbed down, in deference to the Islamic fundamentalists. The law remains as barbaric as it  was. And so is the mob. Pakistan's minorities 3% of Pakistan's 140 million citizens are non-Muslims; and there are at least 20 million Shiites, a minority Islamic sect in Pakistan. The situation for these minorities is desperate. The main victims of Pakistan's discriminatory and repressive legislation so far have been the Ahmadias, the Christians and the Hindus -  and the most victimized are the Christians and Ahmadias. Their evidence is not accepted, their rights to freedom of religion or belief not protected, they are not allowed high-positions in the Army or in the bureaucracy, and they are forced to vote under the separate electorate system, where non-Muslims vote for non-Muslims.

But the main concern of Pakistan's Human Rights activists are the Blasphemy laws. Blasphemy of Islam is  punished differently and much more severely than Blasphemy of other religions. There is no Freedom of
Religion or Belief in Pakistan. Bishop John Joseph, Roman Catholic Bishop of Faizalabad even killed himself in protest in front of the sessions court of Sahiwal, on May 5, 1998. But even this ultimate sacrifice did not move the administration or the legislature.

Pressure must mount from all quarters to enable the law to change, and to protect the victims. Pakistan's theocracy is depriving many honest citizens of their liberty and their life.

Babu Gogineni, Exec Director, IHEU