Criticising blasphemy law does not amount to blasphemy: Justice Khosa

[Devil Soul]

Criticising blasphemy law does not amount to blasphemy: Justice Khosa
IRFAN HAIDER — PUBLISHED 21 MINUTES AGO

ISLAMABAD: Justice Asif Saeed Khosa of the Supreme Court of Pakistan said on Monday that criticism of the blasphemy law did not amount to blasphemy.

The judge gave the remarks while hearing the appeal by Mumtaz Qadri against — the killer of former Punjab governor Salman Taseer — against his death penalty.

A three-member bench headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa adjourned the hearing till tomorrow when Qadri’s counsel Justice retired Nazir Akhter is expected to continue his arguments.

During today's hearing the bench observed that the entire argument of Qadri’s counsel would be rendered irrelevant if it is not established that then governor Taseer had committed blasphemy.

Justice Khosa in his remarks said that criticising a law does not amount to blasphemy and the press clippings presented in court do not provide sufficient evidence to maintain that the former governor had committed blasphemy.

Related: Mumtaz Qadri files appeal against death penalty

Qadri, a former commando of Punjab police’s Elite Force, was sentenced to death for assassinating former Punjab governor Salman Taseer in Islamabad’s Kohsar Market. Qadri said he killed Taseer over the politician's vocal opposition to blasphemy laws of the country.

He had confessed to shooting Taseer dead outside an upmarket coffee shop close to the latter's residence in Islamabad on Jan 4.

Following the sentencing, Qadri's counsels had challenged the ATC's decision through two applications the same month.

The first petition had demanded that Qadri's death sentence should be quashed and the second asked for Section 7 of the ATA to be declared void from the sentencing.

In its ruling on the appeal, the IHC rejected Qadri's application against his death sentence under the PPC but accepted his application to void ATA's Section 7.

Qadri's counsels the challenged IHC's decision to uphold his death penalty in the Supreme Court.

 

[Ghazwa e Hind]

Criticizing blasphemy law is not blasphemy but saving a blasphemer is a blasphemy. Court sentenced death to aasia bibi but taseer jumped in to save her. Court was not releasing her and pardoning her mistake so taseer went to president of Pakistan asif zardari for arranging a pardon for that blasphemer. If taseer can use his approach to save a blasphemer then Qadri can also use his approach to kill a blasphemer.

taseer termed blasphemy law as a "draconian law" astaghfirullah.

 

[General General]

The law should be struck off permanently from the constitution. It is a regressive and oppressive stain on the constitution. People should able to voice their own opinions without the fear of death hanging over their heads. If you don't like what they're saying stop listening to them. No one's forcing you.
Majority of Muslim countries do not have the blasphemy law, does it mean they're not Muslims? I'm sure your prophet Muhammed never killed anyone who criticized his religion, and they were a lot more aggressive in their opposition.
In today's world, this is where Muslims have to return to their roots and figure out that your religion begins and ends with your personal freedoms. Your beliefs cannot compel others and vice versa.

 

[Zarvan]

The law should be struck off permanently from the constitution. It is a regressive and oppressive stain on the constitution. People should able to voice their own opinions without the fear of death hanging over their heads. If you don't like what they're saying stop listening to them. No one's forcing you.
Majority of Muslim countries do not have the blasphemy law, does it mean they're not Muslims? I'm sure your prophet Muhammed never killed anyone who criticized his religion, and they were a lot more aggressive in their opposition.
In today's world, this is where Muslims have to return to their roots and figure out that your religion begins and ends with your personal freedoms. Your beliefs cannot compel others and vice versa.

Sorry this law will never be scrapped and most Muslim countries give punishment of death on abusing PROPHET SAW.

 

[Ghazwa e Hind]

The law should be struck off permanently from the constitution. It is a regressive and oppressive stain on the constitution. People should able to voice their own opinions without the fear of death hanging over their heads. If you don't like what they're saying stop listening to them. No one's forcing you.
Majority of Muslim countries do not have the blasphemy law, does it mean they're not Muslims? I'm sure your prophet Muhammed never killed anyone who criticized his religion, and they were a lot more aggressive in their opposition.
In today's world, this is where Muslims have to return to their roots and figure out that your religion begins and ends with your personal freedoms. Your beliefs cannot compel others and vice versa.

You know nothing about this issue. Here are some examples from the life of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.w) where he ordered his companions to eliminate the blasphemers.

 

[General General]

The law is very arbitrary and vague. The law encourages vigilante justice upon the whim of word of mouth. It is unfair to restrict people from other religions because of your own faith. Try and utilise empathy to put yourself in position of religious minorities to realise the fear and intimidation they might feel every time they get into a dispute with someone. Anyone can claim them to be blasphemous and extract mob justice even on false accusations.
I've attached a pic of the countries that have the death penalty for blasphemy. There seem to be about 8 countries that hold this punishment out of 50 Muslim-majority countries.

 

[Jazzbot]

If Mr. Qadri think he did a good deed by killing a blasphemer, then why on earth he's afraid of death? Why this appealing and b!tching and whining? He should go down with pride, no?

Or maybe this thug knows deep inside that he had done a murder, and on top of that he had broken the oath he took.

 

[I.R.A]

This one should be interesting.

 

[VCheng]

This one should be interesting.

Justifying cold blooded murder will never work in this thread.

 

[forcetrip]

Sorry this law will never be scrapped and most Muslim countries give punishment of death on abusing PROPHET SAW.

It will be changed. Scrapped is not necessary.

If Mr. Qadri think he did a good deed by killing a blasphemer, then why on earth he's afraid of death? Why this appealing and b!tching and whining? He should go down with pride, no?

Or maybe this thug knows deep inside that he had done a murder, and on top of that he had broken the oath he took.

He will be put down. Its just that its taken too long and it will still take a little bit longer.

 

[Jazzbot]

He will be put down. Its just that its taken too long and it will still take a little bit longer.

Sure, but please make sure to burn his dead body down to ashes or dump him in sea like OBL. Or else, I can see a shrine created on his grave and annual rituals being offered on his shrine.

 

[forcetrip]

Sure, but please make sure to burn his dead body down to ashes or dump him in sea like OBL. Or else, I can see a shrine created on his grave and annual rituals being offered on his shrine.

He will end up in history's gutter in no time. Grave or no grave. With grave I would think it would be easier to track and contain the remaining nut jobs. Burning and exploding dead bodies is not what people on this side of the struggle do.

 

[Winchester]

What a sick society that justifies killing people in cold blood !

I bet 90% of the people in this country support Mumtaz Qadri and what he did.

 

[Kambojaric]

Great precedent being set here by the justice. Hopefully we will see the murderer being hanged soon. Personally am not a fan of Taseer at all but regardless of the believes or actions of the individual, murder is not permissible in Islam. Whoever takes the law into his own hand and takes another human beings life without any due process is a murderer and should face the punishment of commiting murder.

 

[Thəorətic Muslim]

Sorry this law will never be scrapped and most Muslim countries give punishment of death on abusing PROPHET SAW.

Criticizing blasphemy law is not blasphemy but saving a blasphemer is a blasphemy. Court sentenced death to aasia bibi but taseer jumped in to save her. Court was not releasing her and pardoning her mistake so taseer went to president of Pakistan asif zardari for arranging a pardon for that blasphemer. If taseer can use his approach to save a blasphemer then Qadri can also use his approach to kill a blasphemer.

3 points:

1. A Blasphemer is guaranteed a death sentence. Whether by the court or at the hands of an illiterate mob.

2. What should be the punishment for the accuser who claims falsely blasphemy to seize the accused property or in revenge?

3. Only Illiterates hold a mentally insane person to the same standard as a normal individual.

Sure, but please make sure to burn his dead body down to ashes or dump him in sea like OBL. Or else, I can see a shrine created on his grave and annual rituals being offered on his shrine.

Isn't that blasphemy?

When the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said that noone should worship or build a mausoleum for a dead person.