Speakers at a seminar on Friday lamented increase in intolerance in the society and called for a reform in laws that were being misused for personal gains or vendetta.
Lawyer and writer Saroop Ijaz, National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP)representative Peter Jacob and veteran journalist and Human Rights Commission of Pakistan’s Director I A Rehman spoke at the seminar about the blasphemy law, its history, cases and the present situation organised by South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA).
NCJP representative Peter Jacob said the blasphemy law must be thoroughly defined so that the accused would be allowed to have a proper defence.
He said he did not accept the blasphemy law as a democratic or fair law because it was made during a time when there was no democracy. “Neither were there any public discussions or arguments held on this matter.”
He said that all data relevant to the law be collected in an impartial manner and be made public so that everyone may know how this law is being used.
Advocate Saroop Ijaz said the original blasphemy law was created to stop incitement to violence. He compared the present blasphemy law in Pakistan with the witch hunts which took place in the United States during the 17th century. He said that an allegation of blasphemy itself can be seen as a death sentence as there have been many cases in which those accused of committing blasphemy have been threatened with death or killed.
He said Rimsha Masih has been granted bail as it would be very inhuman to condemn her of this crime but we must remember that many older people accused of blasphemy are not given any proper chance to defend themselves. And their cases don’t get this much public
support either.
He said that it was the government’s job to protect those who might be targeted by extremist elements and we must stand against this culture in which people judge others based on their religion.
He ended his address by telling the audience “is this really an Islamic law? We must think about this very carefully as it is very important to us, our society and our future.”
Mr I A Rehman said that people in Pakistan really don’t have the freedom to question any laws connected to Islam. He said the law has created even more intolerance in our society.
He said those who question the law are either threatened or killed. He said that if this law was subject to full scrutiny, we would all know that there really is no unanimous support for this law. He said the law was created to intimidate and corner minorities. It has
also been used to incite violence and hatred against different ethnicities and communities.
He said that right now no one can raise their voice against this law in any court. The law is creating an atmosphere of intolerance and fear which would poison the future of Pakistan.
He ended his address by saying that we must do something on this matter as the entire country’s future is at stake.
Later, the audience asked questions from all three guests on solutions to the crisis the society is in.
