By: Eeman Atif
Pakistan’s original religious laws were first created under the British rule in 1860, and were inherited when the country gained independence in 1947. These laws were originally intended as a means to prevent religious violence, making it illegal to disturb a religious assembly, insult religious beliefs, and intentionally defile or destroy a place or an object of worship. In 1927, these laws were extended to include “deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religious belief” as a criminal offense. This law, however, applied to any and all religions.
Under the military ruler, Zia ul Haq, several additions were made to these laws under the Islamisation program, including life imprisonment for those desecrating the Holy Quran. In 1986, under section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code, making derogatory remarks against the Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) was made a criminal offense. These are what we consider to be the current blasphemy laws.
Prior to 1985, only ten cases of blasphemy had been reported but since the implementation of the laws, more than 4,000 cases have been heard in court. Although many people have been sentenced to the death penalty, the majority have had their sentences overturned or have been released on appeal. Very often, the courts find that the evidence or complaints have been fabricated based on personal and/or political vendettas. In many cases, simply being accused of blasphemy, without any significant evidence, can make a person a target for extremists.
A very prominent case regarding these laws was the case of Asia Bibi, gathering both local and international attention. In 2009, Asia, a Christian woman, got into an argument with some women she worked with. A few days later, she was arrested for blasphemy and beaten by a mob in the process. In 2010, she was sentenced to death. Asia’s story would simply have been one of many, if it wasn’t for Salman Taseer, the governor of Punjab, who brought it under the media’s attention and made appeals for her case to the President. Taseer’s affiliation with such a controversial case immediately made him a target for the vigilante extremists of the country and in 2011, he was shot 27 times, in broad daylight, by a member of his security detail, Mumtaz Qadri. This assassination brought Asia’s case under international attention, but Asia remained under solitary confinement for nearly a decade. In October 2018, a historic verdict was given when Asia Bibi was acquitted. Despite nationwide protests led by the Tehreek-e-Labbaik party, the acquittal was upheld by the Supreme Court, and Asia Bibi escaped to Canada, where she and her family were given asylum.
Many cases did not have such a (relatively) happy ending. The blasphemy laws have also led to many extrajudicial killings, where the victim did not even have a chance to be tried in court. In 2017, Mashal Khan, a student studying at a university in Mardan, was accused of posting blasphemous content online. Before any legal action could be taken, he was tortured and then killed on the university campus by a mob. Most of Mashal’s killers were later brought to justice, receiving varying sentences.
The blasphemy laws have destroyed countless lives. Their effects are not just limited to the one accused, who may be sentenced to death, or lynched before even going to court, but also the families, who immediately become targets, and also the people defending the accused. Salman Taseer’s murder proves that. Pakistan is not by any means a secular country, so the fact that Islamic laws exist is not a huge surprise. However, when these laws are used to persecute minorities, and ruin lives, it is clear that it’s time for a change.
(Photo from here.)
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