A Christian man in Lahore has been accused of blasphemy by his Muslim landlord.  Khurram Masih was renting a house in Shahdara Town owned by Zulfiqar Ali.  On 5 December, Ali accused him of burning pages of the Koran in his rented home.  A first information report was registered against Masih accusing him of blasphemy.  He was arrested on the same day and has been held in custody since.

There are questions regarding the credibility of the FIR registered against Masih, namely that Ali did not witness the alleged incident.  The FIR makes no mention of the eyewitnesses who claimed to have seen it.  The report also states that Masih fled from the scene but later contradicts itself by alleging that Masih was apprehended by police at his home. 

Despite this, Masih’s application for bail was rejected by the court of sessions on 3 January.

Explaining his decision, Judge Anjum Raza Syed said: “This is a very sensitive issue.  The grant of bail at this stage may fan the heated sentiments of the parties which may result into great mishap.  Under these circumstances, the petitioner Khurram Masih is not entitled to the concession of bail.” 

Please pray for a just outcome for Masih and for his safety.  In addition, we ask that you keep all of our clients in your prayers as they seek to regain their freedom and take action against those who have mistreated them.

According to the news on Monday, May 30, a group of clerics and Maulana Abdul Rauf Farooqi, a leader of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Samiul Haq) held a press conference at a mosque, the Masjid-e-Khizra, in Lahore, and demanded the banning of the Christian Holy book, the Bible, in Pakistan. He has appealed to the Supreme Court to take suo motu notice and if the court does not ban it then he will move apetition to the court and a panel of lawyers is already working on it.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam’s (Samiul Haq) leader Maulana Abdul Rauf Farooqi and others appealed to the Supreme Court of Pakistan to address their concerns about the “blasphemous” ideas included in the Holy Bible, asking the court to take a ‘suo motu’ notice of the materials.

Farooqi asserted that his colleagues had an intention to reciprocate the blasphemers but they would not follow the example of Terry Jones by burning the Holy book. Nonetheless they added that another way of punishment will be decided in order to prevent any future desecrations.

The above mentioned also made a statement, while citing various passages from the Bible, that such passages were considered as a serious offence to the Muslim society, who possessed a strong respect for all prophets and holy books and would never have thought of committing any blasphemy against them.

Farooqi also denied that this issue was a result of a possible religious conflict, affirming that if the courts were operating according to the law, there would never be a possibility of any type of clash between Christians and Muslims in Pakistan.

A Christian man has been falsely accused of blasphemy in village Chack No 129, in Faisalabad.  The charge was brought against Arif Masif after a dispute over property with a local Muslim man, Shahid Yousaf, last week. 

Iqbal Masih, a CLAAS volunteer in Faisalabad, tells us that Shahid is an employee of the police department and lives in the same locality. 

Shahid and his brother allegedly dropped some pages of the Koran outside the front door of their own home and then started shouting that Arif had committed blasphemy by tearing pages of the holy text. 

When other people heard the commotion, they gathered at the house and wanted to kill Arif on the spot.  Others suggested that the matter be reported to the police. 

A first information report has been registered by Shahid at the police station under section 296-C of the Pakistani Penal Code, which makes defiling the name of the Prophet Mohammed punishable by death or life imprisonment. 

Arif was arrested by Deputy Superintendent Chack Jumra and his family have since fled the village.

CLAAS is in contact with Arif’s relatives and a CLAAS team headed by nation director Joseph Francis is going to the village to investigate the blasphemy allegation. It is our suspicion that Shahid simply wanted to acquire Arif’s property. We will keep you updated on the developments of this case.

CLAAS UK Coordinator Nasir Saeed said: “We are greatly concerned for the safety of Arif Masih.  It was under Section 295-C of the Pakistani Penal Code that Asia Bibi was sentenced to death for blasphemy last November.  There is absolutely no basis for the charges brought against Arif Masih and this is yet another example of Muslims misusing the blasphemy laws to frame innocent Christians because it suits their purposes and because they know they can get away with it. 

While there are no repercussions for those Muslims who file false blasphemy charges, innocent Christians are facing a lifetime in prison or even worse, death, either by execution or at the hands of Muslims who decide to take the law into their own hands.  We will do everything we can to secure Arif’s release and safeguard his life.”

Please pray for the CLAAS team, that God may give them courage and strength to speak with police officials and that God may help them to resolve the charges and secure the release of Arif from police custody. 

Please keep Arif in your prayers, that God may keep him safe because we cannot trust the police, and pray also for the safety of his family.

The Centre for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS) is shocked and saddened by news of the sudden death of a Christian man imprisoned for blasphemy.

Qamar David was one year into a life sentence in Central Jail Karachi for blasphemy.  The circumstances of his death remain unclear and we would ask that you pray for his family who are mourning his loss right now.

The news has been greeted with sadness by the staff at CLAAS.  The organisation was involved in Qamar’s case and had never lost hope that his life sentence would be overturned.

He was charged and sentenced on spurious grounds and we have always felt that Qamar was a victim of gross injustice.

In 2006, Qamar was accused of sending blasphemous text messages about the Prophet Muhammad to the cell phone of a local Muslim.

On May 24, 2006, he was arrested without any evidence and was beaten by police officers whilst in their custody.

Although the SIM card allegedly used to send the text messages was registered in the name of Manwar Ahmed, another man accused in the case, Qamar David was sentenced to life imprisonment on February 25, 2010, while Munwar Ahmed was acquitted.

CLAAS UK Coordinator Nasir Saeed said: “Qamar is yet another victim of Pakistan’s unjust blasphemy laws.  Even if the charges brought against him were true, it is appalling that he should have been sentenced to life in prison and even more tragic that he should have died there.  In the past, Christians have been attacked in prison or died behind bars in suspicious circumstances.  His death raises more questions about the safety of Christians in prison and we hope that that there is no foul play here.  Our thoughts and prayers are with Qamar’s family.”

The Centre for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement is devastated by news of Shahbaz Bhatti’s assassination today in Islamabad.  

According to media reports, the Minorities Minister was on his way to a cabinet meeting when gunmen broke into his vehicle and shot him.  

He was rushed to Shifa Hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival.  

Although no group has come forward to claim responsibility, there are reports that pamphlets issued by al-Qaeda and the Taliban were found at the site of the attack. 

Mr Bhatti was an outspoken critic of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, which make blaspheming against the Prophet Muhammad a crime punishable by death.  

The blasphemy laws are misused by extremists to bring false charges against Christians to settle personal scores or acquire land or other property.  Christians charged with blasphemy have been murdered by extremists, even in cases where they were set free by court judges.  

CLAAS will be contacting the Pakistani High Commissioner and the UK Foreign Office to express its grave concerns for minorities in Pakistan.  

CLAAS’ UK Coordinator Nasir Saeed has made the following statement in response to Mr Bhatti’s assassination: 

“I am shocked and stunned by the assassination of Shahbaz Bhatti.  This is the second high profile killing of someone who supported change to the blasphemy laws.  His death is a terrible blow to Pakistan’s Christian community and other religious minorities as he was a much valued advocate for Christians who worked tirelessly and courageously in pursuit of equality and freedom for all minorities, in spite of the clear risks to his own life.  

“Mr Bhatti was killed simply for speaking in support of amendments to the blasphemy laws and we are left with the question now: who will be next?

“It is a very desperate situation for Pakistani Christians as Mr Bhatti was one of the few people in Parliament who dared to speak up for their rights.   With his death, Christians now have no voice in government.  Whoever speaks up for their rights and for any amendments to the blasphemy laws is either being threatened with their lives like Sherry Rehman, or killed like the Governor of Punjab, Salmaan Taseer and now Minorities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti.

“At this point in time, it is not clear what avenues are left open to us.  The EU, the Pope, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the UN, have all raised their concerns and yet the government in Pakistan continues to do nothing.  It has bowed down to the will of religious groups and so long as that is the case, more innocent people are going to die.

“One thing that is for certain is that the blasphemy laws are the root cause of persecution against Christians and other religious minorities in Pakistan right now.  We have been demanding a complete repeal of the laws, but failing that, then at least appropriate amendments to stop the ongoing persecution of Christians.

“Religious extremism and intolerance towards religious minorities has reached unprecedented levels in Pakistan.  The murderers of Christians are being praised, while Christians are living under constant fear for their lives.  We don’t know what the future holds for us. 

“I appeal to the church in the UK to please pray for Christians in Pakistan, pray that they may have strength and hope, and pray for the government, that it will change the laws so that all Pakistanis can live together as equals and Christians no longer have to fear that their lives will be taken away from them for a crime they never committed.” 

A Christian woman in Faisalabad has been accused of blasphemy following a dispute over land. According to our colleagues in Pakistan, Agnes Bibi has been arrested and detained by the police. It is believed she was in competition for a valuable piece of land with local Muslims and that they accused her of blaspheming against Islam when they failed to take hold of it.

Her arrest has spread a fresh wave of fear among Christians in Faisalabad, who like Christians across Pakistan remain tense after a judge sentenced mother-of-five Asia Bibi to death for blasphemy last November.  Asia remains in jail where she is awaiting the start of an appeal hearing at the Lahore High Court, which has been delayed due to threats being made against the judges.

Faisalabad is also the city in which two Christian brothers were shot dead by Islamic militants outside a courthouse where they had just attended a hearing on the blasphemy charges against them.  Their killers are still at large.

CLAAS UK Coordinator Nasir Saeed said: “We are greatly concerned for the welfare of Agnes Bibi as we have already seen the extremes to which blasphemy charges can go with the case of Asia Bibi.  She is fighting a desperate battle to have her death sentence overturned and extremists are offering rewards for anyone who takes her life if she is released.  This is the reality facing victims of the blasphemy law.  We ask that the charges be dropped and that Agnes be released from prison immediately.”

CLAAS has learned of the release of Munir Masih, who along with his wife Ruqqiya Bibi, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for blasphemy last March. However, the judge came under pressure to release the pair and we filed an appeal in the High Court in Lahore to overturn their sentences. We also immediately sought to secure their bail releases.

It has since emerged that Munir was granted bail by the Chief Justice of the High Court Lahore, Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry, on November 23, 2010, and released from the Sahiwal prison on December 9, 2010.

This latest development has taken everyone by surprise and while we commend the decision to release Munir, we urgently request the High Court to do everything in its power to release Ruqqiya.

Lahore (Agenzia Fides) – Sherry Rehman, Parliamentarian from the Pakistan People’s Party, the woman who presented the motion to the Pakistani Parliament to modify the blasphemy law has been formally charged with blasphemy. The decision was taken by a court in Multan, which enlisted the local police to register the charge of blasphemy against Rehman. The court received the denouncement by a local shopkeeper, who accuses the woman of blasphemy in her address on television in November 2010. The local police, for now, have declared her legally incompetent. In recent weeks there have been other attempts to incriminate her but other Pakistani courts have refused to give authorisation.
This news creates “discouragement and deep concern within the Christian community” which, as a local source of Fides confirms, sees its fears being realised: that it has gone beyond the idea of defining “blasphemous”, and therefore, anyone who opposes the law on blasphemy can be incriminated.
Meanwhile cases are multiplying in which extremist Islamic groups openly praise the “holy war”, the civil disobedience and murders. Fides sources in Pakistan’s civil society express growing concern that these attitudes, however, “are not producing any solid responses from the Pakistani Government,” which “should stop these preachers of hate and lawlessness.” Many mullahs use the Friday sermon to convey hostile messages to increase social and interreligious tensions, to override the rule of law.
“Some are even demanding the use of nuclear bombs against India in the name of holy war in Kashmir,” said a note sent to Fides from the Asian Human Rights Commission. Recently, this occurred in Lahore by Hafiz Saeed, leader of the radical Islamic group Jamaat-ud-Dawah, speaking to an audience of over 20,000 militants. Although the leader is wanted for terrorism, he was able to harangue the crowd undisturbed.
“It is absolutely incomprehensible that the Pakistani government close their eyes and allow these terrorists to circulate freely, spreading radical ideas,” says the Fides source. “The authorities can not continue with this conciliatory policy towards religious extremism. Inciting religious war is a crime against humanity.” The Pakistani civil society forum “Citizens for Democracy”, in a note sent to Fides, appeals to the Government to stop and prosecute those who incite religious hatred and murder. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 17/2/2011)

Posted by Agenzia Fides

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