Time to revisit blasphemy law

SLMP taking up Asiya case to Supreme Court

By – Shamim Masih

Sohail Johnson sharing his plane

ISLAMABAD: The time has come that minority parliamentarians need to take stand; it is time to reopen the debate on blasphemy law in Pakistan, said Sohail Johnson, chairman Sharing Life Ministry Pakistan – SLMP. After the decision of a special division bench of LHC, upholding the death sentence of Asiyab Bibi, my heart leapt out to see her kids and after sitting with the Aashiq Masih and her kids, I decided to take this case and now SLMP is going to file an appeal in the Supreme Court of Pakistan, announced Sohail Johnson.     

According to the details, a farm worker, mother of 5, is kept away from her children for five years and four month. Yes, Asiya Bibi, she dared to drink water in the cup of her co-workers in the field. Asiya become the victim of the prejudice and greed and was accused of committing blasphemy. She has been in jail since June 19, 2009. She was awarded death sentence by the additional District and Sessions Judge Justice Muhammad Naveed Iqbal, despite lack of evidence on November, 2010. On 16^th October, 2014, a special division bench of the Lahore High Court dismissed the appeal condemned Christian woman Asiya Bibi and upholds her death sentence on the blasphemy charges.

Ashiq Masih, husband of the poor lady, was bitterly weeping when I met him. He said, it was ray of hope but the rejection of the appeal has shattered his confidence on Pakistani courts. He confidently said that judges were under pressure. He is still not in the position to control his nerves and how his children will survive, who were hoping their mother to come back at home. But still he is hopeful and will go for the next judicial avenue Supreme Court of Pakistan to appeal.

Ashiq Masih talking about the case details

According to her husband, the counsel, was weak and couldn’t convince the judge. He said he will choose the best lawyer of the town in the apex court. He blamed that Asma and Mafia are the real sisters and they falsely implicated Asiya Bibi in the blasphemy case because they felt disgraced and dishonored on the basis of altercation and hard words extended to them by her when they denied drinking water brought by her for them.

Ashiq Masih was also critical of the role of some Christian non- government organizationsin this regard. He said some of them have worked to worsen the situation. A number of lawyers and non-government organizations are in the race to take credit but not doing anything practical. A human rights champion reportedly has supported just Rs. 3000/- ever since but have been gathering millions of the funds on her name, he added.

Christian struggle to keep faith

By – Shamim Masih

ISLAMABAD: Yaqoob Masih, 50, begins his day before sunrise. He has been a Rawalpindi Development Authority – RDA employee for the last around 15 years. He and his wife rarely help make plenty of to cover their residence and to deal with livings for their 5 children.

Yaqoob Masih - a sanitary worker

Pushing an overloaded wheelbarrow and gasping for breath, this individual rings a single doorbell following one more to recover almost any crap during the day. He separates plastic bottles, card boards, material bits and other recyclable stuff in various chambers and bags dangling from his trolley.

He has not enrolled his children in school, the eldest one is free to look after the younger ones while both parents are away at work. He feels extremely guilty about not being able to send his children to school.  He said with a melancholy look on his tired face that sometimes I am asked to work on Sundays due to shortage of sanitary workers but he cannot afford to leave his job.

Pakistan came into being as a homeland for Muslims, at the time of partition, most of the Hindus fled to India. A small remnant stayed in here, hoping to continue to live peacefully as before. But the Christians remained here by their own will. But now they become isolated and neglected in Muslims’ country. Coming mainly from the lowest strata of the social order, they have been increasingly marginalized and isolated, their privileges withdrawn. A devastating below was struck when the government nationalized many of the Christian colleges and schools in early 70s. Thus Christians were left with few opportunities for education or progress in the modern world.

A minority in a Muslim homeland, they’re demonized and barred from equal opportunities. Although no official statistics are available but half of the Christian in Pakistan are below the age of 20s and most of them have no access to an education. The pressure of extreme poverty forces many families to send their children to work to bring in any small amount of money to feed the family. Children, some even below the age of 10, work with their parents in the brick kilns and other of their parents jobs. Pakistani Christians of this segment are open to severe exploitation, and many end up unemployed, become drug addicts or are abused in the sex trade and start illegal alcohol selling. Many Christians live in villages or in city slums, where they live together largely for their own security. Thus the environment becomes extremely unsafe and socially hazardous. The growing menace of drug abuse had rendered the streets of slums extremely vulnerable for growing children.

Yaqoob Masih carrying garbage, while a girl is waiting for her turn

Minorities should not be limited to sanitary duties; they deserve to be given equal rights and proportionate employment in various government and semi-government departments. They have been facing forced conversions, arson attacks, enforced displacements, blasphemy allegations, attacks on worship places and killings at the hands of religious extremists for many years. And still Pakistani children are taught that Jews are tightfisted moneylenders and Christian’s vengeful conquerors – all in textbooks approved by the administration. There are blasphemy laws, which carry a penalty of life imprisonment and even death – often without evidence or penalty for false accusations. We now have military generals who are Christian. Still, minority religions face inordinate dangers.

Protection and Promotion of Rights of Expression

By – Shamim Masih

ISLAMABAD: It is heard since August, 2011 that a National Commission will be established for the protection of the rights of the minorities in Pakistan to promote interfaith harmony among different sects. But nothing is seen in practical. Now we heard the echo to establishment of the Minority Rights Commission. Before establishing these commissions, let’s consider the working and output of the Ministry of National Harmony or Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Pakistan.

First of all, the State and the Constitution should provide the basics of faith to its citizens. Minorities should be given equal rights and not to be made victims of discrimination at any level. Unfortunately the gap between Muslims and the minorities groups had widened to a great extent. Various religious groups are living in their respective pigeon holes and it is a dangerous trend. We need to develop Minority Rights Commission for interfaith harmony but it is impossible without justice and equality in the society as peace should not be promoted without it. Constitution of the country was not based on inter-faith harmony.

During the last three decades, religious minorities are desperately disheartened due the prevailing situation in the country. Especially Sunni Muslims and other extremist group are targeting religious minorities Christians, Hindu and Ahmadis’. And this ratio has been incredibly increased during the recent years. Targeting and burning the Christians’ colonies is become habitual. Thus Pakistan has become one of the most obsessive countries in the world. According to the figures presented during United Nations Human Rights Council 25^th session; between year 2012-13, more than 700 people were killed and more than 1100 injured because of religion – related violence. At least 16 people are facing the death penalty in Pakistan for blasphemy, and 20 are serving life sentences.

In that report presented to United Nations; Pakistan was declared one of the most hostile nations for religious minorities in the world and countries to violate many of its citizens’ right to freedom of religion or belief. You will hear on every other day that someone being charged of blasphemy and there are the judges on duty to award death sentence to such people when the charges are proven. Everyone is aware in the country that the blasphemy law has often been used for settling personal scores.

Let me give you the short history of the blasphemy law; this law was enacted by the British to protect the religious sentiments of the Muslims minorities in the subcontinent against the Hindu majority. After the partition, when Muslims have become majority, the law should have been abolished. But it was made more stringent, life imprisonment was replaced with the mandatory death penalty in the section 295-C.

There is need to promote interfaith harmony, but state minister for interfaith harmony is only seen in papers. It is only sharing about Hajj issues in Pakistan. Establishment of “Minority Rights Commissions at National and Provincial’ level is seen but in papers only.  Fact is situation worsening for religious minorities day by day, because disharmony is based in the Constitution of Pakistan. There is need to bring amendment in the constitution along with revising the educational syllabus to highlight the role of minorities groups in the struggle for Pakistan. Our history has been twisted badly and the innocent minds were never provided with correct information. But now the time has come that new generation should be provided real facts through education and legislation.

In our country, protection and promotion of rights expression is dare need of the day. We are lacking of leadership that will come to reduce these issues in the country. We have to take collective efforts and rise to resolve the issues of the minorities of the country. Unfortunately our local Christian political leadership is not taking up these issues seriously and collectively. Some political leaders are using their resources to get seats in the main stream political parties. This electoral system and influential have divided our Christian people in the name of politics and religion. Thus the situation has become alarming for religious minorities. Home, life and property, the synagogues are not secure and series of incidents conducted.

Yes! We are facing terrorism, energy crises, and unemployment collectively as a nation but there are some forces within state, threatening all religious minorities of the country. Yes! We want to live with brotherhood, sympathy, peace and social harmony. But there are some barbaric discriminatory law reeks of medieval mentality. We need to start behave like rational human being with ability to critically analyze things rather than behaving like savage and barbaric animals.

Race to take credit

By – Shamim Masih

ISLAMABAD: Since Zafar Bhatti, accused of blasphemy case confined in central jail Adayla, Rawalpindi is being reported in main stream media, individuals and non-government organizations are in race to take the credit for representing his case.

Today the court adjourned the case hearing till October 15, 2014 due to the absence of his co-accused Ghazala Khan. Parvaiz Khan, legal representative of Zafar Bhatti and Ghazala Khan said that he presented the medical certificate of his client and the Additional Session Judge Muhammad Iqbal Chadhar adjourned the case hearing and fixed the next court hearing for 15^th October, 

accepting her medical certificate and advised him to bring her in the court for next hearing.

According to the details major media outlets reported earlier that Zafar Bhatti and Muhammad Asghar were shot in the prison and one of them was killed and other was injured and was taken to the hospital. I said and reported that the earlier media reports were erroneous. Zafar Bhatti was not shot but only Asghar Ali, the shooting was not fatal and he was taken to the hospital and was in stable condition. From the Western point of view it shooting in Adayla Jail was worse because Muhammad Yousaf was a police constable and was supposed to be their Guard.

Power of attorney duly attested by officials

Basharat Khokhar, human rights activist said he had engaged a lawyer Parvaiz Khan for the case that had been hijacked by Joseph Francis. He claimed that Parvaiz Khan is his lawyer.

I roughly reported that CLAAS is doing squat for Zafar Bhatti. As there are many reports that many so called rights champions and non-government organizations in Pakistan pitching for donations deceptively and then using the funds to line personal pockets. As soon as this report was printed in different Western media outlets, Joseph Francis, chief of CLAAS threatened me and declared me “so called journalist and black mailer” and his mercenaries made a phone call from the mobile number +92 300 442 0154 at 1530 Hrs on October 01,2014, he also abused me and said that if I write something against CLAAS, then will face dare consequences.

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Today both claimed that they were in the court and other party was absent. I am posting both powers of attorney, one is from Parvaiz Khan, which is duly singed by Zafar Bhatti and attested by the Deputy Superintendent Jail and the other one is from Tahir Bashir lawyer of CLAAS, which seems fake, with forged sign and without legal stamp by the jail authorities.

This is the attitude of the human rights champion Joseph France and his non-government organization CLAAS towards the reporters and its work, who write and report when you use these sort of case to “mint more money” instead service to the community.