Somewhere between “tum kaafir, mein musalmaan”, too many have died
That Mashal Khan’s death was unnecessary is moot. That it calls in to question the institution of the police force as a whole deserves its own harsh spotlight. That it demands re-evaluation of the teaching methods at that particular university and system as a whole goes without saying. That the perpetrators are still at large calls for a tightening of the reins of law enforcement is beyond question. But with political leaders and now the National Assembly itself calling for safeguards in the blasphemy law, the time has finally come to grab this particularly misused holy cow by the horns — and tether it. That is, if they can meet quorum.
Less than a week after Mashal was laid to rest and the police cleared him of all blasphemy allegations, the country is gripped with the Panama case’s verdict. Election campaigns are gearing up and MPs are losing their heads over the possibility of PM Nawaz Sharif managing to retain his grip on the premiership. It’s said that it takes a tragedy to unite a people. A forgotten though much needed addendum should be that memories are quick to fade.
“Never again” is an important tool for Pakistani politicians. But if there was ever a time to walk the walk, it is now. Innocents like Mashal, dead to appease the religious right, deserve justice. And if Pakistan is to earn its titles of “Islamic” and “Republic”, that justice must be delivered.
