Radicalization of Pakistan and Atom Bomb of Blasphemy Law. Pakistan living 100 years back

[aghaasadharoon]

A very well written and must read article. I totally agree with this and I think even after Peshawar attack we are still standing there.

Attackon death anniversary vigil of Salman Taseer in Lahore: Radicalization of Pakistan and Atom Bomb of Blasphemy Law

By Sajid Raheem


Hundreds of moderate Lahories were doing candle vigil on the death anniversary of Salman Taseer on January 4 at Liberty market Lahore. They were peaceful and just gathering their to remember late Governor Punjab Salman Taseer who was shot dead by his police guard in Kohsar market Islamabad on the name of blasphemy law. This group of people gathered for silent and peaceful vigil was harassed by supporter of Malik Mumtaz Qadri who killed Taseer and these supporters were harassing participants of vigil for dire consequences on the name of blasphemy. A group of beard people appeared on the scene snatched and tore up placards and photos of Salman Taseer before beating up the participants of the vigil. The attackers indiscriminately kicked women and other participants. They also subjected the reporters covering the event to torture and hit threw their cameras on the road and also damaged their DSNG vans.


Taseer was killed because he voiced against blasphemy law made by Gen. Ziaul Haq. Taseer was of the view that this man made law needed amendments and this man made law must be reviewed. He never talked against punishment to a person who is involved in the act of blasphemy and he never talked in favour of those who deliberately try to (God forbids me) defame Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). His opinion was against the clauses of law of evidence, process of registration of blasphemy cases etc. In an interview Taseer criticized blasphemy law reference to filing a mercy petition for Asia Bibi who was sentenced to death by a court under the Blasphemy Law.


Taseer was killed on January 4, 2011 by his bodyguards, Malik Mumtaz Qadri who shot him 27 times with an official MP5 sub-machine gun at Kohsar Market, Islamabad. On 1 October 2011, Qadri was sentenced to death by a Pakistani Anti Terrorist court at Islamabad for murdering Taseer but government is afraid of executing this death sentence due to support from radical cadres sitting within the establishment of Pakistan.


Judgments of a number of many cases have shown and confirmed that blasphemy law is being abused instead of being used only by ruthless people to settle their vendettas and enmities within localities and families. Many cases have been quashed by honest investigators also but stigma on a person who has been tagged as a blasphemous is so big that this stigma gets his or her life. Blasphemy law has become an atom bomb used by radicals against moderate writers, thinkers, philosophers, poets and politicians. Once someone is tagged as a person involved in blasphemy –then his place is either in grave or outside Pakistan. A number of human right activists are killed and many are facing death threats.


Main stream media is also reluctant to talk much about this issue because of threats. Society is harassed by radicals using many psychological tools including this blasphemy law. Religious parties are silent and religious scholars who can talk for amending in the law in private meetings are afraid of commenting publicly and they are somehow or other justify to keep their mouth shut because their lives are also under threat. Everybody knows Mualana Fazul Rehman has survived at least 3 life attempts because he talks against Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and consider acts of TTP against basic teachings of Islam.


Radicalism and extremism have become major component of Pakistani society since Islamisation of Ziaul Haq. Now this purist Islamist system is eating out Pakistan everyday but governments are (whosoever in power) are so much afraid that no amendment has even been moved to the parliament against Hadoud Ordinance /Laws. Moderate Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) had been in power three times but even this party kept away from touching Islamic laws made by Ziaul Haq.


Since Pakistan is showing resolve against extremism that brings terrorism in Pakistan, this is time to review what we did during Islamisation of Ziaul Haq. We should review everything to give a safe Pakistan to our next generation otherwise many Muala Fazulullah will born and will keep harassing our next generations. TTP is not a name of a group of people rather a mindset that believes that discussion and review of man-made Islamic laws (not divine Islamic Laws that clearly indicated in Holy Quran rather those who are explained by human being that this is this and this is that. Those laws that are clearly indicated in Holy Quran are Divine laws and must be accepted and honored as they are).


Unfortunate to say that Pakistani society is not ready to give property share to daughters that is Clearly written in Holy Quran but enjoys to harass and kill people over such laws that are not written in Holy Quran and that are related to human explanation and historic perspectives.


I believe this is time to overhaul our religious thoughts if we as Pakistani really wish to make a Normal Pakistan for generations to come.

Source

 

[yeh-cheez]

 

[know-how]

School main ek english proverb ka "Ratta" lagaya tha k "as u sow so shall u reap".
Hamari ashrafia ko ab us zulm ka hisaab dena parr raha hy jo us ny is qaum k sath 67 years tk kia hy. Awam ko ilm sy door rakha, unhain ghulam samjha, un k haqooq salab kiay n now its time to pay back.
ab in so called intellectuals k column b asar nhi krtay kisi py.

 

[BrotherKantu]

شکر کرو مفت مجرہ نہیں کروا دیا

 

[Altaf Lutfi]

Let us try to rationalize things for better understanding. Nobody will disagree that problem is not with the law but its application. This law becomes a matter of dispute time and again only because it brings sinful of certain category, say non-Muslims chiefly, in the net and unlike any other law for crime like murder, abduction or injury applied in general to a citizen, not a group or community. So, the so called enlightened people take it as a discretionary law and from there they turn up to the basic agenda of secular vs Islamic state. One must understand that the law being in the book only is not a threat to anybody.

Given the sick society as we are, one can not rule out the misuse of this law. In case of Ramsha Masih we witnessed a cunning clergy working for land mafia, created a fake scene but she was luckily saved as Muslim women proved her innocence on TV. But I see the liberals playing tricks as they never talk of Ramsha case. If the possibility of misuse of a law is the reason, we should delete most of the laws in practice because we have fake witness availability , corruption in lower courts and twisted investigation, so justice can not be delivered ?

Salman Taseer was not murdered for his opposition to the law. He was vocal against it but so were lot many in the society. What boiled the brains was his extraordinary facilitation to the culprit and lobbying to smuggle her out of the country. With a passion for western values and his Scottish blood, he crossed the line. To be more true, he was targeting the judicial system of the state.

Nobody will support attack on the vigil observing peaceful people in Lahore. It was a barbaric act but don’t you think they were instigated to disrupt the venue ? When the masses were celebrating the birthday of Holy Prophet, what message this vigil was beaming out ? a contempt for the law and disgrace to majority of the believers ?


Timing of this vigil was fatally wrong and planned cleverly perhaps. Liberals needed something to beat their drums about and they have it now.

 

[desicad]

You are trying to accuse the liberals of some malafide agenda with a lame argument, but they are absolutely right in voicing their reservations with this law because the fact is that the abuse of this law cannot be compared with other laws ......in any other case if the person is acquitted by courts then that person will be able to live a normal life wheras in this case even if the victim is proved innocent, just the stigma of blasphemy already attached will cost that person his/her life.....not only that, the victim may even be killed before he/she gets a chance to prove the innocence in the courts.....
Take for example Rimsha's case you picked up to blame seculars/liberals, she was proved innocent and aquitted of all charges by the courts which was good thing that happened, but you didn't say what happened after that......fearing for her life she alongwith her family had to escape to Canada, isn't it?.......

Let us try to rationalize things for better understanding. Nobody will disagree that problem is not with the law but its application. This law becomes a matter of dispute time and again only because it brings sinful of certain category, say non-Muslims chiefly, in the net and unlike any other law for crime like murder, abduction or injury applied in general to a citizen, not a group or community. So, the so called enlightened people take it as a discretionary law and from there they turn up to the basic agenda of secular vs Islamic state. One must understand that the law being in the book only is not a threat to anybody.

Given the sick society as we are, one can not rule out the misuse of this law. In case of Ramsha Masih we witnessed a cunning clergy working for land mafia, created a fake scene but she was luckily saved as Muslim women proved her innocence on TV. But I see the liberals playing tricks as they never talk of Ramsha case. If the possibility of misuse of a law is the reason, we should delete most of the laws in practice because we have fake witness availability , corruption in lower courts and twisted investigation, so justice can not be delivered ?

Salman Taseer was not murdered for his opposition to the law. He was vocal against it but so were lot many in the society. What boiled the brains was his extraordinary facilitation to the culprit and lobbying to smuggle her out of the country. With a passion for western values and his Scottish blood, he crossed the line. To be more true, he was targeting the judicial system of the state.

Nobody will support attack on the vigil observing peaceful people in Lahore. It was a barbaric act but don’t you think they were instigated to disrupt the venue ? When the masses were celebrating the birthday of Holy Prophet, what message this vigil was beaming out ? a contempt for the law and disgrace to majority of the believers ?


Timing of this vigil was fatally wrong and planned cleverly perhaps. Liberals needed something to beat their drums about and they have it now.

 

[Altaf Lutfi]

You are trying to accuse the liberals of some malafide agenda with a lame argument, but they are absolutely right in voicing their reservations with this law because the fact is that the abuse of this law cannot be compared with other laws ......in any other case if the person is acquitted by courts then that person will be able to live a normal life wheras in this case even if the victim is proved innocent, just the stigma of blasphemy already attached will cost that person his/her life.....not only that, the victim may even be killed before he/she gets a chance to prove the innocence in the courts.....
Take for example Rimsha's case you picked up to blame seculars/liberals, she was proved innocent and aquitted of all charges by the courts which was good thing that happened, but you didn't say what happened after that......fearing for her life she alongwith her family had to escape to Canada, isn't it?.......

1. Who says acquittal in other crimes saves a person ? a murderer acquitted can never feel easy there after and in most cases he is either killed or leaves the place. A person accused of adultery faces the stigma for life time if he escapes the court with help of a good lawyer or poor investigation. And the person falsely accused of blaspheme feels no stigma among his "own" people but wories about his life and society offers the solution as it did in Ramsha case and burned couple case.

2. Ramsha case proves that nobody can be prosecuted merely under false accusation and our society is quite active in such cases. Hopefully you don't forget the strong reaction from majority in case of the christian couple burned alive and accused are facing the consequences.