ASIA/PAKISTAN - Blasphemy law, an evil of society Muslim lawyer says

Islamabad (Agenzia Fides) – The blasphemy law and Islamic extremism “are obscure evils of Pakistan's society ”, “they disrupt stability, harmony and legality ”: Muhammad Aslam Khaki, a Muslim jurist and lawyer, told Fides, the day after the murder of the Emmanuel brothers in Faisalabad.
Aslam Khaki, totally committed to defending human rights in Pakistan and eradicating religious extremism, is presently defending persons, some of them Christians, charged with breaking the blasphemy law. Although because of this he is subject to “pressure and threats”, the lawyer is determined in his commitment to promote legality.
With regard to the case of the Emmanuel brothers, Aslam Khaki told Fides: “We publicly condemn violence. No one may take the law in his own hands: this is the founding pillar of the rule of law. What is more the two Christians were found to be innocent and had been acquitted by the Court. These events are wounds to legality and to respect for human rights, wounds which Pakistan must heal ”.
These wounds are caused by the controversial “blasphemy law, which creates disharmony in society and poses problems particularly for religious minorities. Our country does not need this law. The law wrongly used for personal arguments and revenge. Many innocent citizens spend two or even three years in prison before being acquitted and released. While they are unjustly detained in prison, the families are often subject to threats and violence”. The lawyer says he thinks the law should be abolished but this, he added, “depends on Parliament and I think there is little chance of it happening”. “Members of parliament – he adds – are pressured by radical Islamic groups who threaten street protests and revolts. They fear the loss of consensus also because the law has been in force for twenty years and the people think it serves to defend the name of the Prophet”.
According to Aslam Khaki an intermediate step might be useful: “In the meantime procedure could be modified: as jurists, we ask that a report for blasphemy may only be registered with the consent of an ad hoc Commission which examines the case preventively, evaluates the evidence and decides whether or not to proceed with formal charging and arrest of the accused persons. This would be a means of guarantee and it would prevent the arrest of persons on false or invented charges”, the lawyer told Fides.
The law in question "was born of an extremist mentality and approach”. Today radical Islamic leaders “continue to instigate the crowds, especially the youth: the murderers of the two Christians were without a doubt persons manipulated by Islamic preachers who do great harm to society and to the nation ”, the lawyer concluded. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 23/7/2010)