Asia Bibi case: Pakistan's tussle with blasphemy law

pakistan-asia-bibi-imran-afp Pakistani residents watch the speech of Prime Minister Imran Khan as he addresses the nation following the Supreme Court decision on Christian woman Asia Bibi, in Karachi on Wednesday | AFP

In a historic judgment, the Supreme Court of Pakistan on Wednesday overturned the execution of Asia Noreen, who was accused of blasphemy, and acquitted her. Asia Bibi, as she is commonly known, is a Christian woman and a mother who was convicted and sentenced to death under Pakistan’s blasphemy law in 2010.

In the course of the judgement that took eight years, Asia always maintained her innocence. The book, Blasphemy: A Memoir: Sentenced to death over a cup of water, narrated by Bibi and penned by French journalist Anne Isabelle Tollet, details her story.

Justice Asif Saeed Khosa has written the detailed verdict of the three member bench headed by the chief justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar.

The verdict mentioned that blasphemy is a serious offence but the insult of the appellant’s religion and religious sensibilities by the complainant party and then mixing truth with falsehood in the name of the Prophet was also not short of being blasphemous. In the verdict, the bench quoted the Quran, scholars, Iqbal and Shakespeare. "She appears to be a person, in the words of Shakespeare's King Lear, 'more sinned against than sinning,'" the judges said.

Bibi's acquittal has divided the people of Pakistan. Thousands have came out protesting the decision of the apex court, sloganeering and demanding that the acquittal be revoked. Roads are being blocked and leaders of political parties are calling for the assassination of the judges who freed Bibi.

Prime Minister Imran Khan warned the protesters that the government would act against any prolonged blockade. Khan said, in a video message, "I appeal to you, do not push the state to the extent that it is forced to take action."

pakistan-blsahphemy-law-afp Supporters of the Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP), a hardline religious political party, chant slogans during a sit-in protest following the Supreme Court decision on Asia Bibi, in Lahore | AFP

Pakistan Army has warned the protesters not to test their "patience" and asked them to end the standoff peacefully to avoid the use of force as the mass protests entered its third day.

The law pertaining to offences related to religion was first introduced in South Asia by the British in 1860, which was later adopted by Pakistan in 1947 and amended by the regime of Zia ul Haq in 1986. It was mentioned in a report that the law does not clearly define blasphemy and evidence might not be reproduced in court for fear of committing a fresh offence.

The basic issue with the blasphemy law lies with its implementation. No hard evidence beyond the word of anyone claiming to be a witness is required. The accused is arrested and put in jail just on the witness’ claim without any verification. Human rights groups have pointed out the misuse of law time and again. In Pakistan, the law is usually exploited by extremists as well as ordinary people to settle personal scores.

After the arrest, what follows is a curtailment of the rights of the accused at every step of the legal process. Accusations lead to mistreatment at the hands of police. The accused lacks support from the local police and lower courts for the fear of threats and intimidation. The case usually lacks evidence and witnesses fail to testify for the same reason. Even if the accused is acquitted, the complainant goes unpunished for false accusation.

The law has also been used to intimidate and persecute the Ahmadiyya community of Pakistan. According to statistics released by the community, since the inception of blasphemy law, around 308 Ahmadis have been charged with the blasphemy law. Apart from the accusations under the law, the murders of Ahmadis go unaccounted. Dr Abdus Salam, a Nobel laureate in Physics and an Ahmadi, had to leave the country in protest after a parliamentary bill declared the community non-Muslims.

There are many groups in Pakistan who play the game of accuse and charge with each other out of personal or political vendetta.

In a seven-year-old interview with CNBC TV 18, the now prime minister Imran Khan can be heard speaking in favour of the law, but presses upon the need for a fair and better system to keep a check on its misuse.

In the judgement of Mumtaz Qadri, the assassin of Salman Taseer, it was noted by SC that the majority of blasphemy cases are based on false accusations stemming from property issues or other personal or family vendettas rather than genuine instances of blasphemy and they inevitably lead to mob violence against the entire community.

According to the data provided by National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) a total of 633 Muslims, 494 Ahmadis, 187 Christians and 21 Hindus have been accused under various clauses of the blasphemy law since 1987.

In the case of Ayub Masih, who was too charged with blasphemy, the SC observed that the complainant wanted to grab the land of the accused, for which he filed false charges against Masih.

The daughters of Asia Bibi pose with an image of their mother while standing outside their residence in Sheikhupura located in Pakistan's Punjab Province | Reuters The daughters of Asia Bibi pose with an image of their mother while standing outside their residence in Sheikhupura located in Pakistan's Punjab Province | Reuters

Pakistan has seen failed attempts to propose reforms and safeguards against the misuse of blasphemy laws. The 26th governor of Punjab Salman Taseer, who filed a mercy petition for Asia Bibi, was gunned down by his own bodyguard in 2011. One month later, Shahbaz Bhatti, minister of minority affairs and a vocal critic of the blasphemy law, was assassinated.

Sherry Rahman of Pakistan People’s Party proposed a private member bill in the National Assembly in 2010. She was forced to back down after death threats, following the murder of Taseer. In 2016, an agreement was reached to curb the misuse of blasphemy law in a meeting of the Senate of Pakistan’s human rights committee.

The popular support the law gathers in Pakistan stems from it being declared a divine law. Arafat Mazhar, director of Engage Pakistan, an NGO that seeks to reform blasphemy law, has written with evidence that it should be declared a man-made law for it holds no basis in the religious texts. Javed Ahmad Ghamidi, a controversial scholar who left Pakistan after two of his close associates were murdered, shares this view.

Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, an independent NGO, is working towards collecting data of convictions, lynching and making people aware of the law’s misplacement and misuse.

Pakistan has been witnessing a debate on how the misuse and improper implementation of blasphemy law violates people’s basic right to freedom. In the wake of false convictions and persecutions, the demand is strong for PM Imran Khan to put human rights above the law that has been used to please personal egos.

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