The All Pakistan Ulema Council (APUC) and the Pakistan Interfaith League (PIL) on Monday forged an alliance to promote interfaith harmony and peace in the country and vowed to stand united against religious extremism. Both the parties decided to form a special committee to investigate the blasphemy case registered against the 11-year-old Christian girl Rimsha Masih, accused of burning pages containing Quranic verses. The special committee was assigned the task of investigating Rimsha’s case in close collaboration with the police and authorities concerned. A joint meeting of the two organizations was held in this regard. The meeting was chaired by PIL Chairman Sajid Ishaq, and APUC Chairman Tahirul Ashrafi.
The meeting demanded accountability of those who wrongly accused, instigated and ignited the situation for their vested interests in the name of religious extremism and unjustly accused a young girl of a grave crime, which was beyond her capacity due to her mental illness, diagnosed as Down’s Syndrome. The meeting demanded severe punishment to the guilty as a warning to others against misusing the blasphemy law for their vested interest.
