Civil society rallies against Qadris supporters
LAHORE: The Joint Action Committee for Peoples Rights on Saturday organised a rally outside the Quaid-e-Azam Library to protest against the mindset of a section of society, which was treating Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseers killer as a hero.
The civil society activists belonging to the federation of 33 social organisations participated in the Rally Against Fear with the theme Take your country back! Do not be silenced by fear! And raise your voices for justice.
The participants included PPP Senator Abida Hussain, Shehrbano Taseer, former NCA dean Nazish Attahullah, Saleema Hashmi, Tahira Syed, Beachonhouse National University Dean Dr Mehdi Hassan, Punjab University English Department Chairperson Prof Dr Shaista Sonnu Sirajuddin, Sajida Vandal, Pervaiz Saleha, Bushra Aetizaz and Abida Syed.
The participants were holding placards inscribed with slogans in support of liberal democratic Pakistan with some reading: Islam does not belongs to maulvis, supporting a victim of injustice: blasphemy or respect?
Speaking on the occasion, Senator Abida Hussain said that Mullaism was rejected in Pakistan because this country didnt belong to religious fanatics.
She said religious extremists were trying to make the murderer of the governor hero. She said there were some religious and political elements in the country who believed in violence, adding that the governors killing was an attack on the democratic institutions as well as the people.
Talking to Daily Times, Prof Dr Shaista Sirajuddin said, This is dark time for all human beings who believe in human values and who stand up for tolerance and an enlightened mindset. Let us all stand up for what Salmaan died for.
Dr Mehdi Hassan said it was a shameful act that people were appreciating the action of a killer.
It is painful that the media is projecting the killer as a hero and promoting his brand of Islam, he said, and added that if Mumtaz Qadri had some problem, he should have tried to use legal methods instead of taking law in his hands.
Tahira Syed and Tamoor (from LUMS) sung revolutionary songs including Iqbal Banos Hum dakhein gay, Lazim he ke hum daikhein gay; Ye watan hamara hai and the national anthem.
Two documents were read out on the occasion and were distributed among the participants that included a mission statement.
Mission statement: The current debate on the blasphemy law has become so skewed, distorted and governed by fear that a mans life is taken for merely speaking out against the injustices committed in the name of this law and his brutal murder is widely cheered. Are these the values by which we wish to define ourselves? Is this the society we wish to live in? Governor Taseers murder and the subsequent reaction to it demonstrate that the debate on the blasphemy law has been hijacked.
We believe that living in a democratic state entitles us to debate this law or any law passed by parliament in a safe and secure atmosphere. We have the right to debate laws and social issues without threat of harm or loss of life. We also condemn the emerging hero-worship of the governors murderer in the strongest way. A man who has committed a brutal murder in broad daylight has become a hero and warrior, not just by the fringe elements of society but also mainstream bodies as is starkly demonstrated by the following:
Lawyers showering the killer with rose petals on his arrival in court while the Islamabad Bar Council, in an unprecedented move, has offered the killer free legal representation.
The Jamaat Ahle Sunnat Pakistan (JASP), the largest body of the Barelvi sect, came out in support of the killer by insisting that no Muslim should attend the funeral or even try to pray for the governor or express any kind of regret or sympathy over the incident.
We also condemn the culture of incitement and hatred which has been allowed to flourish by the continuing inaction on the part of successive governments. In order to prevent any such unfortunate incidents from recurring, we implore the government to take real and meaningful action against any and all people inciting hate crimes and the murder of those that dare to engage in the debate about the blasphemy law, the statement said.
Governors statement on Aasia Bibi case: Shes a woman whos been incarcerated for a year and a half on a charge trumped up against her five days after the incident, where people who gave evidence against her were not even present. This is a blatant violation against a member of the minority community. This is a blatant miscarriage of justice and the sentence that has been passed is cruel and inhumane.
Governors views on the blasphemy law: The thing that I find disturbing is that if you examine the cases of the hundreds tried under this law, you have to ask how many of them are well-to-do? Why is that only the defenceless and poor are targeted?
What I find particularly distasteful is that when you speak of amendment people assume that you condone the crime. What we can do is to amend the law in such a way that the maker of a false accusation is tried under the same law.
Even people who are deeply religious have spoken out against this black law. Javed Ahmed Ghamidi, for example, has stated clearly that this has nothing to do with Islam Islam calls on us to protect minorities, the weak and the vulnerable.
Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan
