I am writing this letter in response to the news item: “Shahbaz Bhatti Murder Case Resolved?” I totally agree with this statement of the report that “the case remains to be shrouded in mystery over conflicting reports claiming that there are no eye-witness accounts.”
In March 2011, a Christian Minister for Minority Affairs, Shahbaz Bhatti was assassinated by unknown gunmen near his house. It was shocking that he was killed because he dared to speak against the misuse of the blasphemy law in Pakistan. It’s sad that it has been almost a year but there has been no progress on the case of Shahbaz Bhatti by the law enforcement agencies.
This case has clearly been ignored by the agencies and forgotten by the people. When I started reading this news item, I was hopeful that I might find something positive to read about the case but, unfortunately, I can say that our law agencies have failed to take any proper action. It was mentioned in the report that police “could not find any sufficient proof against the accused Hafiz Nazar”. I believe that the police would not be able to find any proof against the two newly accused people as well.
I want to highlight that the issue of the cases regarding blasphemy law has become a central problem for the state as it exposes the ideological and the legal inadequacies in the system. It is unfortunate that the Islamic extremists and the clerics not only put pressure on the lawyers to take immediate action against the accused and not to take the cases of the accused one but also take the law in their own hands in the name of safeguarding Islam.
Due to these threats or physical attacks, lawyers and judges feel reluctant to take any proper action against the cases of the blasphemy. In fact, in many cases, lawyers and policemen overwhelmed by their religious biases and zeal either punished the accused of blasphemy themselves or helped others to punish the accused. Hence, it is evident in Pakistan that the misuse of the law has promoted the feelings of mistrust and fear, hatred against each other and religion-driven violence.
It is also sad to point out that contemporary Pakistan has been divided into a battlefield between the two opposing forces. One strong force is the religious parties who are willing to go to any extent to protect the position of Islam in society. The other weak force is the small group of liberals who want reforms but mostly remains silent threatened by the consequences that might follow that reform. To bring reform in the blasphemy law requires a lot of courage which is absent in both our government and the legislators.
All those who have dared to act in opposition to this law had to pay for their lives. Hence, the extremists have infiltrated the law enforcement institutions to such a large extent that the government has been unable or unwilling to root out such elements from the agencies. Unfortunately, this also results in Pakistan having weak democratic institutions especially the judiciary and the police who are crippled by rampant corruption, ineffectiveness, and a general lack of accountability.
ZAHRA SHAKIL MIRZA
LUMS, Lahore
