The lawyers’ community reacting to the judgment of the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) Rawalpindi in the case against Mumtaz Qadri, who assassinated former Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer, expressed support for the judgment.
They said no society can be civilised without a system of reward and punishment for unlawful acts from members and the power to punish a person committing blasphemy lay firmly within the state and not individuals.
Talking to Pakistan Today, Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) President Asghar Ali Gill said he, being Muslim, believed that the punishment for blasphemy was death but individuals cannot give a death sentence to accused persons. He said if individuals began to punish accused it would produce anarchy. Speaking on the Qadri judgment, he said, “I will not comment on whether the Mumtaz Qadri case judgment is good or bad since the appeals court will judge if anyone, including the convict, felt the ATC judgment was wrong.”He said if the government of Pakistan felt the punishment is wrong the President can pardon, so people should not protest on the subject.” Judicial Activism Panel Chairman Muhammad Azhar said it was the state’s failure in handling blasphemy cases that had produced incidents where individuals take the law in their hands. He said he will not comment on the Qadri judgment since he retains a right of appeal in High Court and Supreme Court. However, he said it was a sensitive matter and the appeal should be filed by the State, and not Qadri himself.
