Minister of State and Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Human Rights, Barrister Zafarullah Khan on Wednesday said the government was ready to sit with all stakeholders and start a dialogue about the blasphemy law.
Work to improve the blasphemy law was underway, and a draft bill had already been forwarded to the Interior Ministry, he said. He added that if needed the matter might be taken up at the Council of Common Interests.
He said that in the new draft bill, punishment had been suggested for those who lodge false First Information Reports (FIRs) and those that take the law into their hands.
He said that there was a need for proper implementation of the blasphemy law. He recalled that a friend of Justice (r) Raza Khan, Secretary Law, was arrested on blasphemy charges and he advised the justice that the accused should not be allowed to come out of jail, as he might be killed.
Speaking at the Senate’s Committee on Human Rights, which met here with Senator Nasreen Jaleel in the chair, Barrister Zafarullah said Justice Manzoor Gillani had recently been appointed as a member of the Islamic Ideology Council, while ten more members, including Justice (r) Raza Khan, would be appointed soon.
Federal Minister for Human Rights Zahid Hamid said that the government wanted to solve the blasphemy issue through talks and consultations.
The committee discussed an application from deceased human rights activist lawyer Rashid Rahman’s widow. The Senate chair was told about life threats.
Senator Nasreen Jalil observed that the government should consult people from all schools of thought, besides the Islamic Ideology Council, to prevent the misuse of the blasphemy law. Efforts would have to be made to eliminate a particular mindset in this regard, besides strictly implementing the law.
Guidelines could be taken from the Supreme Court’s decision in this regard also, she added.
Senator Farhatuulah Babar said that help should be sought from religious scholars to prevent wrongful implementation of the blasphemy law. Those lodging false cases against others under the pretext of blasphemy should also be exposed and taken to task, he added.
The Islamic Ideology Council, he said, was against the misuse of the blasphemy law and Council member Hafiz Tahir Ashrafi had even proposed convicting those who wrongly accused someone of committing blasphemy.
Senator Sehar Kamran also called for launching a campaign to raise awareness amongst people about the law and its misuse.
Senator Mir Kabir appreciated the government’s efforts for the implementation of the SC verdict on the blasphemy law.
we shall see said the blind man
Blasphemy is a concept invented to win arguments when there is no evidence to support a point of view.
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