LAHORE – In May 1998, a bishop belonging to Khushpur Village near Faisalabad put a gun to his head and shot himself, in order to protest against the arrest and conviction of a Christian accused of blasphemy. Bishop Joseph, had protested at first saying that the allegations were false and the law was being misused, and if the man was convicted, he would kill himself. This is exactly what happened. The Christian community has never regarded this as a suicide per se, in fact to them it has always been the murder of their religious leader, because of the lack of protection of minorities.
Around 13 years later, another man from Khushpur has been killed for the same reason. What this man had in common with the bishop was that he too was a Christian, and a high-profile figure. Both members of the minority community attempted to sacrifice their own lives in order to save others. Within these 13 years, countless people have been arrested, convicted and even killed on charges of blasphemy – charges never proven. In the same period Christian villages have also been set on fire . These incidents have come to prove that minorities in Pakistan are severely endangered.
Things came to a head, when two months ago, Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer was killed for preferring to side with a poor, Christian woman, rather than a group of villagers. And things have worsened after the murder of federal minorities minister Shahbaz Bhatti, who himself was a Christian. While several members of the public prefer to stay away from street protests, preferring the safety of being indoors, others have refused to acknowledge that the wrong of the murder. An even smaller section of society has still tried to voice their condemnation but as always, the subject of the blasphemy law remains taboo with non-Muslims continuing to be sacrificed to it.
IA Rehman, a journalist and human rights’ activist, is bitter and resentful of the law and order situation of the country. Not only that, it appears as if part of him has begun to disbelieve that anything can be dome about it. He is vocal about that. “Is any political party doing anything about this issue?” he questions, his voice dripping with bitterness. “Are the PPP, or the Nawaz League, or the Q-League, or the Maulanas? The minorities have always been attacked and it seems will continue to be killed like this. This goes for almost anyone who wants to stand up for them,” he says.
While he agrees that the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and the Awami National Party (ANP) have been speaking out against the law, he says the country needs much larger parties to speak out and actually move against the law. “Using the word ‘secularism’ or the ‘blasphemy law’ has landed almost anyone in trouble. The situation is just ridiculous,” he says.Khawar Mumtaz, from Shirkatgah also says that the reason why several minorities have been killed or arrested is simply insane. “Bishop Joseph killed himself because he was driven to. However, I will say this, that the blasphemy law is a vague and an unspecific law which has resulted in this carnage. It is not the content that we are objecting to, as much as the procedure. People are being accused left right and centre over unproved incidents of blasphemy, and nothing can be done about it,” she laments.
Punjab Minorities Minister Kamran Michael, who himself is a high-profile Christian figure, is disturbed about the circumstances that have developed ever since the Aasia Bibi case gave out these murderous ripples. “I think Bhatti took it too easy after the PM assured that no law would be repealed and things cooled down for a while. Things regarding this issue, never cool down and Bhatti had denied security because he led a simple lifestyle, and also to remove focus that there was a high-profile person traveling with a protocol. Now, those who sending him threats, and were lying low, have managed to achieve their target,” Michael says. He says it is the common man who is most affected and ends up depressed and disillusioned, without any security.
“Security is only given out for short-term measures but never sustained. We need to have prominent focus on security issues, so the hardliners’ movement is perpetually stunted,” the minister says. Today, several Christian groups sit inside their homes, disturbingly quiet, for an issue that has caused them so much bloody sacrifice, without any advantage. They are scared to come out, and scared to voice their expressions.Today more than before they remember their Bishop from Faisalabad – a blood-stained, traumatic memory which has still not faded away. Added to the list is Shahbaz Bhatti. And even today, they are unaware, and tensely anticipating and trying to understand, who could be next to go.
