Pakistani protesters warn pope over blasphemy laws

[Trisonics]

January 15, 2011 6:24 a.m. EST
Rawalpindi, Pakistan (CNN) -- At a frenzied Friday rally in this garrison city outside of Islamabad, thousands warned Pope Benedict XVI to keep his nose out of the debate over Pakistan's blasphemy laws.

The demonstration came days after the Vatican called for Pakistan to repeal the controversial laws that say anyone who defiles the name of the Muslim prophet Mohammed should face the death penalty or life imprisonment.

"If you challenge the prophet, we will take revenge. It doesn't matter who does it," shouted a cleric on loudspeakers to thousands of cheering onlookers.

Pakistan's blasphemy laws came into sharp focus when a security guard allegedly killed his boss Salman Taseer, the governor of Pakistan's Punjab province, who criticize the laws.

Since the shooting, hardline religious groups have held demonstrations praising suspected killer Muhammad Mumtaz Qadri -- who Pakistan's Interior Minister says confessed to the killing -- calling him a hero and a defender of Islam.
Pakistanis protest against Pope

At Friday's rally, pictures of the the suspects's smiling face adorned scores of posters and a banner that covered the length of a truck. The banner also pictured a cleric who allegedly inspired Mumtaz Qadri to assassinate Taseer. The cleric is now wanted by police.

Taseer, who was sprayed with more than 20 bullets last week, according to a medical clinic spokesman, had led an aggressive campaign to change Pakistan's blasphemy laws after what he called the wrongful conviction of a Pakistani Christian woman.

The laws are often used to persecute minorities, Taseer had said.

At the rally, many said Taseer wanted to repeal the blasphemy laws, which they called an attack on Islam.

"No doubt he was an agent," said protester Noor Ul Mustafa. "After the pope's statement it's clear where he's getting orders from."

At the protest, Mumtaz Qadri's lawyer said his client should be set free because he was compelled to defend his faith.

For now, the suspected assassin remains behind bars.

Pakistani protesters warn pope over blasphemy laws - CNN.com

 

[Frankenstein]

abe kun dara rahe ho Pope ko, Yar

He might be somewhere in a covert location by now

 

[Ahmad]

Pope is luckier than Taseer.

 

[desioptimist]

Is there a regular protest march in pakistan? They seem to follow international news very closely and protest against something or other.
Somebody manufacturing US/India/UK flag is getting richer there.

 

[FreekiN]

How come noone is writing about the counter-protestors?

 

[ANG]

Hi, this is why there are no counterprotests. It is sad to see that people can brag about beating someone in public in the name of religion, and not get arrested or prosecuted.

A quote in the article sums it all up - "Sameer added that he was very proud of his wife’s performance during the mob beating. “She beat Zahira more than anyone else. Her hand is so swollen that she hasn’t been able to make rotis since the day of the incident. I’ve been getting my meals from a restaurant,” he said."

Sad to say, but this is Pakistan today and its intolerance. I would certainly not want to live in a country like this. Take care.



http://tribune.com.pk/story/103891/blasphemy-allegations-another-christian-family-on-the-run/

/*******************************************/
Blasphemy allegations: Another Christian family on the run

LAHORE: Two Christian women were beaten and publically humiliated by an angry mob over apparently frivolous blasphemy allegations and they and their family are now in hiding for fear of being killed, The Express Tribune has learnt.

“None of our relatives is ready to let us stay with them. They fear the wrath of the extremists, particularly after the assassination of Salmaan Taseer,” a male member of the family said over the phone from an undisclosed location.

The family and a non-governmental organisation that is helping them asked that their identities not be revealed, lest it put them in further danger. The names mentioned here are fictitious.

According to the family, the allegations stem from a dispute between Amina, a Muslim, and her sister-in-law Zahira, a Christian, in an East Lahore locality. The two got into an argument on Tuesday night and though it appeared to have been settled, on Wednesday morning, after her husband Zahid had gone to work, Amina walked out onto the street and started shouting that Zahira had abused the Holy Prophet (pbuh).

A short while later, a group of men led by Muhammad Sameer, a member of a religious organisation keen on raising its sectarian profile, forced their way into the house and started slapping Zahira, said another of her brothers, Sohail. “Other men and women from the neighbourhood started gathering at the house too and they beat up my sister and mother. They were the only people in the house,” he said.

“We tried our best to get her to confess her crime,” Sameer told The Express Tribune. As a member of the religious organisation, he said he could not tolerate any derogatory remarks about the Holy Prophet (pbuh).

Sameer added that he was very proud of his wife’s performance during the mob beating. “She beat Zahira more than anyone else. Her hand is so swollen that she hasn’t been able to make rotis since the day of the incident. I’ve been getting my meals from a restaurant,” he said.

Malik Mumtaz Qadri, the self-confessed assassin of Salmaan Taseer, is a member of the same group as Sameer. The group also runs a twenty-four hour cable TV channel.

Khadim Hazoor, Sameer’s son-in-law and another participant in the beating, said that the women’s faces were blackened and they were made to wear necklaces of shoes and paraded around the locality on donkeys to humiliate them. He said the women denied blaspheming and repeatedly touched their feet seeking mercy.

He said the people of the locality would not allow Zahid or his family to return to their house, which he lives next door to. He claimed that the fight between Zahira and Amina the night before the incident revolved around the upbringing of Zahid and Amina’s 18-month-old daughter. Amina had wanted to raise her daughter as a Muslim, but Zahira wanted her niece to be raised as a Christian, he said.

Hazoor accused Zahid of “cheating Islam” by pretending to convert from Christianity to Islam so he could marry the Muslim girl. “We will not let them live in this house. He has not only cheated Amina but also Islam,” he said.

Zameer Khan, an NGO worker, helped the family flee the locality after they were attacked. “Apparently there was no blasphemy, just an argument between two women,” he said.

He said after hearing of the incident, he had reached the scene to find the women being attacked. He said he had asked the mob if anyone had heard Zahira utter any blasphemous remarks, to which they all replied in the negative. He said he persuaded them to let the women go while he investigated the matter. He then helped relocate the family temporarily. He said he had also convinced the mob not to involve the police.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 15th, 2011.

 

[Ahmad]

How come noone is writing about the counter-protestors?

Is there any?