Pakistan Tehrik Insaaf (PTI) leader Shireen Mazari has leveled serious accusations of blasphemy against twitter user Chaudry Wasim Azmat. She also went on to make allegations of sectarian hate speech.
It is not stupidity – it is Blasphemy. why FIA’s Cyber Crime monitoring ignoring this and Zaid Hamid tweet threatening Shias? https://t.co/cldzBKf0VS
— Shireen Mazari (@ShireenMazari1) June 28, 2017
The twitter handle of Chaudry Wasim Azmat had made an analogy between the granddaughter of the Prophet Muhammad, who was taken to the court of Yazid after the battle of Karbala, and the daughter of Prime Minister, Maryum Nawaz, who has been asked to appear before the Panama case JIT. The twitter profile describes itself as a ‘free thinker, vegetarian and global citizen’ and is full of pro-PML-N rhetoric and tweets.
زینب کو بھی یزید کی JIT کے روبرو پیش ہونا پڑا تھا, زمانہ اس حرکت کے سبب یزید پر لعنت کرتا ھےاور زینب کو مرد میدان مانتا ھے#MaryamMeriAwaz pic.twitter.com/KGN4ygQTW0
— چودھری وسیم عظمت (@WaseemAzmet) June 27, 2017
The comparison was picked up by PTI worker Ali Haider Zaidi who criticized Wasim Azmat for the tweet. And although the denunciation was scathing, it was restrained and stuck to acceptable social media language. Mr Zaidi had called the comparison ‘stupid’ and made a snide remark at the text body of Azmat’s tweet saying the person making the comparison was indeed ‘aik ghatiya insaan.’
I cannot believe someone can be stupid enough to make such a comparison!
Yea @WaseemAzmet Koi bohat he ghatya insan hai! https://t.co/i3oqoFGfpv— Ali Haider Zaidi (@AliHZaidiPTI) June 28, 2017
The criticism itself was a little unfounded given that religious analogy is rife in the political atmosphere of a society such as ours. Shireen Mazari, however, re-tweeted the criticism and went the extra mile, saying “Its not stupid – its blasphemy.” And while the twitter account is not verified by the social media website, the twitter handle is controlled by the PTI leader.
The comments come in an atmosphere where accusations of online blasphemy have lead to incidents of murder and lynching. The most recent of these have the notorious murder of Mashl Khan, who died in the PTI governed KPK only a couple of months ago.
Mazari further went on to question why the FIA was not targeting people ‘like this’ who were supposedly ‘blasphemers’ in her eyes.
It is not stupidity – it is Blasphemy. why FIA’s Cyber Crime monitoring ignoring this and Zaid Hamid tweet threatening Shias? https://t.co/cldzBKf0VS
— Shireen Mazari (@ShireenMazari1) June 28, 2017
It seems that the PTI only has something against the FIA using the cybercrime law when it involves their social media activists. Only a few weeks ago, Pakistan Today reported new PTI member Firdous Ashiq Awan having political rivals booked by the FIA for alleged cyber crimes which included ‘maligning’ her name.
Dr Mazari, a federal PTI lawmaker, has now asked the FIA to start taking action against people she is accusing of blasphemy. She also ended on a note questioning why the FIA was not looking into sectarian remarks made by controversial media personality and self proclaimed ‘defence analyst’ Zaid Hamid.
This now becomes the second instance in a small period of time where the PTI has used or asked to have cybercrime laws used by the FIA for their own gain despite their chairman Imran Khan’s rhetoric when their own social media activists were targeted. Moreover, the PTI activists were called in only for questioning while Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan had her political rivals arrested and Dr Mazari is leveling accusations that have in the very recent past lead to lynching.
What is even more alarming is the ease with which political leaders and lawmakers are throwing around such claims, despite the many glaring examples of what ill-founded and unintelligent claims can lead to. Especially since it was in her party’s provincial government that Mashal Khan was lynched on baseless accusations of online blasphemy.