Pakistan Troops Clash With Islamic Protesters Who Accuse Law Minister of Blasphemy

According to a report yesterday from BBC News, the government of Pakistan has deployed troops to the city of Islamabad to deal with protesters who have been blocking a key highway interchange for several weeks.  Protesters from the Islamist Tehreek-i-Labaik Ya Rasool Allah Party  are demanding the firing of Law Minister Zahid Hamid, claiming that he is guilty of blasphemy because of a provision in his 2017 Election Reform Bill passed by the National Assembly.

Here is the issue, as explained by Daily Pakistan. Under prior law, the nomination form that a candidate for office was required to complete included the following for all Muslim candidates:

I, the above mentioned candidate, solemnly swear that--

(i) I believe in the absolute and unqualified finality of the Prophethood of Muhammad (Peace be upon him), the last of the prophets and that I am not the follower of anyone who claims to be a Prophet in any sense of the word or of any description whatsoever after Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him), and that I do not recognize such a claimant to be Prophet or a religious reformer, nor do I belong to the Qadiani group or the Lahori group or call myself an Ahmadi.

In the 2017 legislation, this statement became an unsworn declaration by the candidate. Hamid said that this was a clerical error, and earlier this month Pakistan's National Assembly amended the 2017 Bill to restore this anti-Ahmadi provision as a sworn statement in the candidate nomination form. (TheNation).  That apparently did not assuage protesters' objections.  AP reports that at least 6 people were killed and 200 wounded in clashes yesterday between police and protesters in Islamabad.  Other opposition members of Parliament have different kinds of objections to other parts of the 2017 Bill.

UPDATE: Reuters (11/28) reports on the negotiated settlement of the conflict, though the military's role in the negotiations has raised questions.

Pakistan Court Fines and Jails Husband For Polygamous Marriage Without Wife's Consent

According to Deutsche Welle, for the first time a trial court in Pakistan has sided with the woman in a polygamy case.  A trial court in Lahore sentenced Shahzad Saqib to 6 months in jail and a fine equivalent to $1900 (US) for violating Pakistan's 2015 family law that requires the exiting wife's approval for a man to take a second wife. (Background). The court rejected the husband's argument that he did not need consent because Islam permits a man to have up to four wives.

USCIRF Condemns Pakistan's Blasphemy Convictions of Ahmadis

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom issued a press release yesterday condemning Pakistan for sentencing three Ahmadis to death for blasphemy.  Voice of America reports that the three were sentenced Wednesday by a court in Pakistan's Punjab province.  The men were arrested in 2014 after village residents claimed they were tearing down a religious poster-- apparently an anti-Ahmadi poster.  Ahmadis consider themselves Muslims, but Pakistan does not recognize them as such and considers them heretics. USCIRF called on Pakistan to repeal their blasphemy laws and to release those in prison on blasphemy charges.

Pakistan Court Upholds Reduction In Private Operators' Hajj Quotas

Again this year in Pakistan, Hajj quotas have become the subject of litigation.  In Hajj Organizers Association of Pakistan v. Federation of Pakistan, (High Ct. Sindh, June 16, 2017), the High Court of Sindh at Karachi rejected a challenge to the reduction in the quota of Private Hajj Sector organizers from 50% to 40% of Pakistan‟s allocated quota.  The change was made so that an increased number of government sponsored lower-cost Hajj trips could be provided. The court said in part:

The plaintiffs have no justification to snatch lawful right of common people to perform Hajj at economical Hajj package as compared to expensive Hajj packages introduced and announced by the plaintiffs.

Express Tribune reports on the court's decision.

In A First, Pakistan Imposes Death Sentence For Online Blasphemy

As reported by the Hindustan Times and The Sun, for the first time a Pakistani court has handed down a death sentence for blasphemy disseminated on social media. On Saturday, an Anti-Terrorism Court sentenced a 30-year old Shia Muslim who posted derogatory remarks about Sunni religious figures as well as about the Prophet Muhammad on Facebook.  Apparently the defendant engaged in a religious debate on Facebook and the person on the other side turned out to be a counter-terrorism agent. Defendant was charged under Pakistan Penal Code Section 295-C (use of derogatory remarks in respect of the Holy Prophet) and Sections 9 and 11W of the Anti-Terrorism Act (inciting sectarian hatred).

Pakistan Paper Surveys Mob Violence Following Blasphemy Accusations

Pakistan's Express Tribune today surveys Pakistan's growing problem of mob violence following accusations of blasphemy.  There have been two such incidents in the past 11 days.  According to the paper:

Between 1947 – the year of Pakistan’s creation – and 1985, only 14 cases of blasphemy were registered by law enforcement agencies. In 1986, the military regime of General Ziaul Haq made blasphemy a capital offence and broadened its classification. Since that year, over 4,000 such cases have been registered....

On March 7, 2017, an Islamabad High Court judge ... went on a diatribe against online ‘blasphemy’, declaring it a form of terrorism and demanding that the government initiate a crackdown immediately. Following this, the Pakistan Interior Minister ... condemned online ‘blasphemers’ and ordered that action be taken against them. Since then, four people have been arrested on charges of blasphemy and Facebook has managed to shut down 85% of the pages deemed blasphemous.

These developments have also encouraged certain televangelists and social media activists who have embarked on a campaign to identify individuals they deem to be offending religious sensitivities.

The lynch mobs of today have not occurred in isolation. They are no natural expressions or consequences of the Islamic faith but a direct consequence of politicians and other national institutions weaponising religion and utilising it as a political tool – a tool that recruits militants for proxy warfare in Afghanistan and Indian-occupied Kashmir and brings in conservative votes during elections.

Pakistan Supreme Court Takes Action Against Fraudulent Hajj Tour Operators

In Hussain v. State, (Pakistan Sup. Ct., Feb. 27, 2017), the Supreme Court of Pakistan denied bail to defendants charged with defrauding a large number of Muslims seeking to perform Hajj by creating a fake travel agency that absconded with their travel funds. The Court explained:

This nature of frauds have become so common that, every year, before the Hajj Season commences, innocent and rustic peoples are looted by various so called agencies including the unauthorized tour operators, of which judicial notice is required to be taken to curb the increasing menace of frauds practiced in religious and pious matters, therefore, Courts are required to treat these cases differently and such frauds must be brought to halt.

The Court strongly criticized government agencies for failing to enforce the law and "allow[ing] the fraudsters to commit such crimes with impunity." In an attempt to prevent such frauds in the future, the Court ordered the Ministry of Religious Affairs

to update its website in English, Urdu and all local languages, conveniently readable and understandable by the illiterate poor people, showing all the details about the duly approved Hajj & Umrah Tour Operators, warning the public at large that except those mentioned on the website, no other agency or Tour & Hajj Operator is authorized to make booking or collect money for sending people to perform Hajj or Umrah. At the same time, the said Ministry shall give wide publicity to such lists through electronic and print media and also through handbills/notifications in different languages....

The Court also ordered further disclosures to travelers and indemnity bonds by authorized Hajj tour operators.  Today's Express Tribune reports on the decision.

Kashmir Court Employees Must Offer Regular Prayers At Proper Time To Get Raises

According to WIO News, the new Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir has told court employees that their annual salary increases will turn on their offering prayers regularly and at the prescribed times. Ibrahim Zia, who was sworn in Saturday as Chief Justice, instructed that offering prayers is now mandatory for all court employees.  He also told employees they must work with dedication, honesty and regularity to ensure speedy justice to the public.

Pakistani Court Bans Public Valentine's Day Celebrations

AP reports that a court in Pakistan's capital of Islamabad has banned all Valentine's Day celebrations in public places or at official levels in the capital city. The court, whose ruling applies only in the capital city, said that the celebrations violate Islamic law.  Pakistan's media regulator instructed all media outlets not to print or broadcast any Valentine's Day promotions.

Pakistani Court Sentences Last of Hajj Corruption Defendants

In Pakistan yesterday, a special court sentenced the last of 4 defendants in the 2010 Hajj corruption case to 30 years in prison and a fine equivalent to $386,000(US).  AAJ-TV reports that defendant Ahmad Faiz was charged with being the front man for the Religious Affairs Director General.  Defendants were charged with massive corruption in the arrangements for Pakistani Hajj pilgrims. (See prior posting.)  Last year, 3 other defendants in the case were sentenced. The former federal minister for religious affairs Hamid Saeed Kazmi and the additional secretary Aftab Ahmed were sentenced to 16 years in prison, while Director General for Hajj Affairs Rao Shakeel was sentenced to 40 years. (Express Tribune, June 3, 2016).

Pakistan Sentences 5 To Death In Killing of Christian Couple Over Supposed Qur'an Burning

Last Wednesday a judge on Pakistan's Anti-Terrorism Court imposed the death sentence on five Muslims for torturing and killing a Christian couple who, it was alleged, had burned pages from the Qur'an in the brick kiln where they worked. Eight others were sentenced to two years in prison. Morning Star News, reporting on the sentences, recounts:

Hundreds of villagers in Kot Radha Kishan, incited by Muslim leaders calling for violence via mosque loudspeakers, were involved in the Nov. 4, 2014 assault in which 26-year-old Shahzad Masih and his five-months pregnant wife, Shama, 24, were thrown into a burning brick kiln....

Masih and his wife worked as bonded laborers at the brick kiln when the throng descended on them after area Muslims accused them of committing blasphemy by burning Quranic pages....

On Nov. 2, 2014 Shama Masih was cleaning her quarters ... when she found amulets of her late father-in-law, who had used them in the practice of black magic. The amulets may have contained koranic verses, and a Muslim co-worker, Muhammad Irfan, noticed half-burnt papers and accused the family of desecrating the Koran, relatives said.

Appeal Planned In Pakistan Court's Expansion of Grounds For Christian Divorce

Christians in Pakistan  (May 26) reports that a Christian leader will appeal to Pakistan's Apex Court a ruling handed down on May 23 by the Lahore High Court that expanded the grounds for Christian divorce in the country.  The Pakistan's Christian Divorce Act of 1869 allowed Christians to divorce in accordance with the procedures of British law.  However in 1981 General Zia-ul-Haq annulled that provision and limited the grounds for Christian divorce to adultery.  Now a High Court judge has ruled that the 1981 change was unconstitutional, reviving the ability of Christian couples to divorce on additional grounds found in British law, including divorce if the marriage has become irreparable. As reported by Christian Daily (May 26), some Christians feel that the expanded grounds for divorce mar the sanctity of marriage.

Pakistan's Supreme Court Warns Against False Blasphemy Allegations

Earlier this week, Pakistan's Supreme Court published the opinion of its 3-judge panel which earlier this month upheld the death sentence that had been imposed on Mumtaz Qadri, a former elite force guard who in 2011 killed Salmaan Taseer, governor of Punjab Province.  Qadri acted because of Taseer's support for a pardon for Aasia Bibi, a Christian woman who had been sentenced to death for blasphemy. (See prior posting.)  The court used the opinion in Qadri v. State, (Sup. Ct. Pakistan, Oct. 7, 2015), to warn about the dangers of false blasphemy charges-- a significant problem in Pakistan.  The Court said in part.

In the following paragraphs of this judgment it shall be highlighted as to how the accused person in this case had acted on the basis of nothing but hearsay without getting his information ascertained, verified or investigated and, as Almighty Allah has warned, he has brought harm not only to another person but also to himself. Verily, such are the consequences when Almighty Allah’s warnings or commands are not heeded to....

Commission of blasphemy is abhorrent and immoral besides being a manifestation of intolerance but at the same time a false allegation regarding commission of such an offence is equally detestable besides being culpable. If our religion of Islam comes down heavily upon commission of blasphemy then Islam is also very tough against those who level false allegations of a crime. It is, therefore, for the State of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to ensure that no innocent person is compelled or constrained to face an investigation or a trial on the basis of false or trumped up allegations regarding commission of such an offence.

The Guardian reports on the decision.

Pakistan's Supreme Court Upholds Death Sentence For Assassin Angered Over Blasphemy

Yesterday a 3-judge panel of Pakistan's Supreme Court upheld the death sentence that had been imposed on Mumtaz Qadri, a former elite force guard who in 2011 killed Salmaan Taseer, governor of Punjab, Pakistan's largest province.  Qadri acted because of Taseer's support for a pardon for Aasia Bibi, a Christian woman who had been sentenced to death for blasphemy. (See prior posting.) According to the Wall Street Journal:

Lawyers for the defendant, Mumtaz Qadri, had argued he should be treated with leniency because he acted to defend the honor of the Prophet Muhammad. But the judges sided with prosecutors who said Mr. Qadri had committed a straightforward, premeditated murder.

The Supreme Court also reinstated Qadri's conviction for violation of the country's anti-terrorism laws.  A backer of Qadri reacted to the decision, saying:

This is going to cause anarchy in the country, because the followers of the Prophet, peace be upon him, are very upset. They have imposed the white man’s law on us.

Law Aimed At Religion-Based Terrorists On Fast Track In Pakistan's Parliament

In Pakistan on Saturday, the government introduced two new bills in response to the Taliban terrorist attack last month on the Army Public School in the city of Peshwar that killed 145 people (including 132 schoolchildren). The bills will sunset after two years. As reported by The News, The Constitution (21st Amendment) Bill, 2015, will allow terrorists to be tried in military courts. The Pakistan Army Act, 1952 (Amendment) Bill, 2015 (full text) adds provisions aimed specifically at terrorist groups acting in the name of a religion:

any person who is or claims or is known to belong to any terrorist group or organization using the name of religion or a sect and raises arms or wages war against Pakistan or attacks the Armed Forces of Pakistan and law enforcement agencies, or attacks any civil or military installations in Pakistan or kidnaps any person for ransom or causes death of any person or injury, or is in possession, storage, fabrication or transport of explosives, fire-arms, instruments, articles, suicide jackets or vehicles designed to be used for terrorist acts, or receives or provides funding from any foreign or local sources for such illegal activities and acts or does any act to overawe the state or any section of the public or a sect or a religious minority or to create terror or insecurity in Pakistan or attempts to commit any of the said acts, within or outside Pakistan shall be punished under this Act;

It is expected that the bills will pass in Parliament quickly.

Pakistan Appeals Court Upholds Christian Woman's Death Sentence For Blasphemy

In Pakistan on Thursday, in a high-profile case a 2-judge panel of the High Court in Lahore upheld the death sentence on blasphemy charges that had been imposed in 2010 on a Christian woman, Asia Bibi.  Morning Star News and World Watch Monitor carry extensive reports on the decision. The charges against Bibi (who is also known as Aasiya Noreen) grew out of her alleged response to Muslim co-workers in a berry field who told her to convert to Islam after one of the workers insisted that Bibi had made the water she brought to them impure by touching it. An appeal to the Supreme Court is planned, but it will probably not be heard for at least three years.  Death sentences are rarely actually carried out in blasphemy cases in Pakistan, though the accused and their lawyers are often victims of vigilante violence.  Concern continues over Bibi's safety even as she is held in prison. In 2011, Salman Taseer, governor of Punjab province, was assassinated by one of his own security guards who was angered by Taseer's support for a pardon for Bibi. (See prior posting.)

Pakistani State's Supreme Court Invalidates Appointments of State's Shariat Court Judges

The Supreme Court of the Pakistani state of Azad Jammu and Kashmir has handed down a decision invalidating the procedures for appointing the jurisdiction's Shariat Court judges. In Mughal v. Azad Government of the State of  Jammu and Kashmir, (AKJ Sup. Ct., Aug. 25, 2014), the Court concluded that appointments to the Shariat Court since 1993 are void because the law did not provide for consultation with the relevant chief justices before Shariat Court judges are appointed, did not provide for removal of Shariat Court judges for misconduct or incapacity, and did not require appointment of at least one Islamic legal scholar to the court. In order to avoid the order creating a vacuum, the Supreme Court instructed the government to immediately appoint High Court judges as judges of the Shariat Court as well. Pakistan's Daily Times reports on the decision, which it says was released on Sept. 17.

USCIRF Issues Report On Sectarian Violence In Pakistan

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom yesterday issued a Factsheet titled Violence Towards Religious Communities In Pakistan. It reports that  from July 2013 to June 2014 there were 122 incidents of sectarian violence resulting in 430 deaths and another 773 injuries.  The most common kind of violence was targeted shooting. The largest number of attacks were against Shi'a Muslims, with 222 deaths. The second largest number were against Christians, with 128 deaths. The report includes details of each violent incident.

Pakistan Officials Agree On Creating National Commission For Minorities

The Nation today reports that after a year of deliberations, the government and the opposition party in Pakistan have agreed on the framework and composition of a National Commission for Minorities. The Commission will be comprised of ten members from different religions. Finance Minister Ishaq Dar says that four of the commissioners will be Muslim, two Christians, two Hindus, one Parsi and one Sikh. Names of the ten have been agreed upon.

Man Accused of Blasphemy In Pakistan Killed While In Police Custody

In Pakistan today, a 65-year old man who had been accused of blasphemy was shot dead by a teenager. According to Reuters:

Victim Khalil Ahmad was a member of the minority Ahmadi community, a sect who say they are Muslim but whose religion is rejected by the Pakistani state.

Ahmad and three other Ahmadis had asked a shopkeeper in their village in central Pakistan earlier this week to remove inflammatory stickers denouncing their community.... In retaliation, the shopkeeper filed blasphemy charges against the four men on May 12. Ahmad, a father of four, was in police custody when the teenage boy walked in, asked to see him, and shot him dead....

Some mullahs in Pakistan encourage the killing of Ahmadis.