A court on Saturday refused bail to the principal of Farroqi School, detained in a blasphemy row over a piece of homework allegedly containing derogatory references to the Prophet Mohammed.
Asim Farooqi, 77, was remanded in custody for 14 days on charges of blasphemy despite arguing he had no direct part in the case.
One of the school’s teachers, Arfa Iftikhar, was forced into hiding after a furious mob stormed the school damaging the building and furniture.
“The bail petition is dismissed,” Judge Anjum Raza announced after hearing arguments from Farooqi’s lawyer.
The lawyer, Jawad Ashraf, had asked for bail on the grounds that the principal had no role in the incident.
“The principal of the school can only be held responsible for negligence and has no direct role in the blasphemy incident, he should be released,” he told the court.
About 10 clerics from local mosques gathered at the court to oppose Farooqi’s release. At the same time however, around 2,000 students, parents and teachers gathered at the school to demand its reopening, carrying placards and chanting slogans which included: “Release our principal”.
The school management on Friday took out front page adverts in two leading newspapers to deny any knowledge of the supposed insults, saying the teacher Arfa distributed the work just 10 minutes before the school closed for the Eidul Azha holidays.
Farooqi’s lawyer maintained that the whole scenario could be a conspiracy against the school which was a famous school of the city. “It’s a possibility that should not be ruled out,” he said.
