Pakistan

Taseer’s murder: Veiled threats hurled at leading figures

Jihadi website posting calls Bilawal ‘the next target’ for defending ‘blasphemer’.

Saba Imtiaz January 14, 2011

KARACHI: Personalities condemning former Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer’s assassination and speaking out against the controversial blasphemy law are being threatened for voicing their views, The Express Tribune has learnt.

Chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who made a strongly-worded speech in London this week, is among those being ‘condemned’. “To those who are praising or justifying these crimes, I say: you along with the killers of Shaheed Salmaan Taseer are the real blasphemers,” Bilawal had said in his speech.

A posting on a jihadi forum responded: “This defender of the blasphemer must be the next target.”Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Minorities Shahbaz Bhatti told AFP in an interview that fatwas have been issued calling for him to be beheaded. “During the Aasia Bibi case, I constantly received death threats. Since the assassination of Salmaan Taseer … these messages are coming to me even publicly,” he said. “The government should register cases against all those using hate speech.”

According to a report in Urdu-language daily Nawa-i-Waqt, the chief of the PPP’s ulema wing who led Taseer’s funeral prayers after other clerics reportedly refused to do so, has gone into hiding.

A report in English daily Pakistan Today quoted a Punjab-based leader of the Sunni Tehreek (ST) warning Shehrbano Taseer, the late governor’s daughter, about issuing statements against Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri who has confessed to assassinating her father. But, when contacted, a representative sought to distance ST from the comments. “That leader may have said something in his individual capacity, however, our central leadership pursues no such policy,” the representative told The Express Tribune.

Earlier this week, leaders of the Jamaat Ahle Sunnat pointed to an opinion piece by Shehrbano Taseer in The New York Times as “evidence of her views”.

Member of the National Assembly Sherry Rehman, who belongs to the PPP, has consistently been targeted.

Religious groups and political parties have called on the government to make Rehman withdraw the private member bill proposing amendments to the blasphemy law that she submitted in the National Assembly. A flyer distributed in Karachi by Tanzeem-e-Islami claimed that Rehman and Bhatti had “provoked the religious honour of Pakistan’s Muslims”.

The government has said that it will provide security to Taseer’s family and as well as to Rehman.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) issued a statement on Wednesday, expressing its concern over her security. The statement quoted Bob Dietz, CPJ’s Asia programme coordinator as saying: “Rehman’s life straddles the worlds of journalism and politics like few others in Pakistan. Even with the government’s increased protection, she remains at great risk, and we remain greatly concerned about the safety of (a) colleague.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 14^th, 2011.

COMMENTS (50)

Checkerboard Strangler | 13 years ago | Reply @Numair Hussain: Ninety-nine percent? Oh please...if 99% supported such a thing The Express Tribune wouldn't even exist. Your hubris and hyperbole is matched only by the American "Tea Party" and their spiritual leader, Sarah Palin, and yet most Americans know that she is a joke. Wonder what most Pakistanis think of you.

Canuckistani | 13 years ago | Reply Jeff...there is so much wrong with what you're saying that one hardly knows where to start. The Muslim world, Pakistan included, is far more diverse than the US. We have many languages, cultures, ethnic groups and so on under our belt so ours is a much more established melting pot than the US. One of the major problems with what you're saying is that you think you have the right to come here and define the parameters of what is acceptable and what is "barbaric"; as if anybody who believes that Islam is more than just a personal matter is barbaric in your eyes and anyone who is secular is ok. The issue is, that is not your debate...you are not a part of this discussion. You can do all the name-calling you want...you are wasting your time. You are not convincing anybody new with your rhetoric...if anything, you are only re-enforcing the point that Americans think they have the right to interfere in our internal matters. Please go ahead and keep posting, you are only strengthening the argument of conservative Pakistan that says that the liberals are in cahoots with people like you..and the liberals an irrelevant minority. Add a million people like you and it will make no difference to US interests in the region..in fact, it will only set them further back and further provide encouragement to the public to support the call for a fully Islamic state. Tell us we're barbaric for wanting that...we really don't care. We saw how democratic you were when the Palestinians elected Hamas, or when the Turkish elected the Islamic parties and your government colluded with the secular army to overthrow the elected government. We know very well that you are not concerned about democracy....your main issue is with our religion (which is our way of life) and you can turn blue in the face and spend quadrillions of dollars but you will get nowhere trying to minimize our religion. rephrase it or re-frame it however you like...you have already given away the fact that your problem is with Islam...maybe you should go home and realize that Islam is the fastest growing religion in North America also...or realize that the trillions you're spending trying to fight us Muslims here is getting you nowhere and you would have been wiser to build roads and schools back home. Go away...you are not welcome here!

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Jeff H | 13 years ago | Reply @Canuckistani: No...I think I'm going to stay a very long while, because I want better answers than the ones you and Burger Boy have provided. You've skipped my questions entirely by accusing me of talking down to you, and Burger Boy (even his nickname is Western sounding!) has used the convenient excuse that WE "killed tens of thousands and we’re the killers because some people among us allegedly attacked you" Some AMONG you? The very people who think, believe and act like you and Burger Boy ARE the people who attacked us. And NOW? Now you're twisting my words around. What a cowardly way to debate something. I never said that Islam is NOT CAPABLE of being "a complete way of life, including your government". I say that ALL faiths are good enough to stand on their own two feet WITHOUT the government. The Muslim community in our country is starting to gain recognition and representation in our lawmaking bodies, Muslims in America are building mosques, even a planned Islamic center just two blocks from the very spot where the Twin Towers once stood in New York City. And all this DESPITE the hue and cry from extremist Christians who choose to be ignorant and accuse ALL Muslims of being our attackers. You see, I DO NOT accuse ALL Muslims of being our attackers or our enemies. I do NOT paint all Muslims with the one large brush. But you? You and Burger Boy use the refuge of the true coward, you paint ALL Americans the same, and you attempt to try to use the excuse of "if you are not Muslim you have no business speaking here on this issue" How do you know what I am? How do you know my faith, did I say what religion I was? What if I am Muslim? What if I bring along a Muslim friend to argue with you alongside me? How arrogant of you to assume that you know anything about me. What you know is what you see on MTV or in some movie from Hollywood, because that is the extent of your knowledge of America and Americans. It shows, along with your fear of intellectual debate. So I think I'm going to stay to the bitter end, maybe forever. I believe I have found a new home here, a place where I can listen to and your fanatic friends make excuses for your violence, and listen to them invoke the name of Allah as they wipe the blood of innocents from their hands and faces.

Canuckistani | 13 years ago | Reply @Jeff H: Jeff...you are indeed talking down to us. Who are you to tell us that our religion is incapable of being our complete way of life, including our government?! Please...go away...you are not welcome here!

Canuckistani | 13 years ago | Reply @Jeff H: Are you suggesting we don't have a society? What is the point you are trying to make with your post? Let me put your little argument into perspective, because it appears you don't realize just how illogical and immature it is. Civilizations have taken things from each other throughout history; the The Islamic civilization contributed in the field of mathematics, medicine, chemistry, astronomy, economics, and much more which the western civilization built on. Med students are required to read Avicenna's books islamic medicine. So what if the last two centuries had the British, Russian and US empires hold primacy? The Americans spent millions of dollars developing a pen that could write upside down in space while the Russians decided to use a pencil....everybody, no matter how advanced, learns something from someone else. That provides absolutely no support to your argument that there is no Islamic civilization or Pakistani society because we use computers or other products which were in the past developed by the US, but are now developed by China, India, Israel and others. So lets also look at your next few points....blue jeans are manufactured in Pakistan...so what if the design came from the US? You are wearing Pakistani products, not the other way around. In fact, the US produces pretty much nothing...so if we go by your argument, it is the US that has no basic fabric that binds society together except consumerism. Most of America successful inventors and technology billionaires are now first generation immigrants from countries like China, Pakistan, Israel and India. The computer that I'm using was manufactured in China.....none of this affects the fact that the fabric of Pakistani society is Islamic. The Islamic empire was an open empire that saw no color or race as foreign. We accept everybody as long as they abide by the rules set out by the Quran and our Prophet (pbuh)...Salman Al Farsi was a persian who introduced the idea of trenches to protect the fort. Hazrat Bilal was a black former slave who held the esteemed position of Mua'dhin (the guy who calls the prayer)...it is a universal religion for a universal society which accepts the contributions of all mankind as long as they do not violate the parameters laid out in the Quran and Sunnah...Our civilization stretches from Indonesia to Morocco and consists of over 20% of the world, so you're not talking to some dinky island culture from Polynesia. What you're saying seems more like the rant of an immature mind rather than a well thought out argument.

abbas | 13 years ago | Reply @abbas: If anything we have TOO MUCH outside influence. Tsk tsk abbas…how shameful that you act as their chamcha despite all that is happening in our country. You choose to side with the foreigners who speak to us with the kind of holier than thou attitude that needs no further comment once you read his posts…and you side with him over a Pakistani who feels that we should not tolerate this kind of interference? Tsk tsk….I see the class of the slave minded is alive and well -- Canuckistani . yes it appears we have too much influence of uncivilized countries out of touch with human rights and rights of minorities like Saudi Arabia and Iran. What we are clearly missing out on is the honest debate that is slowly being snuffed out in the name of a religion. A religion that may have been liberating in the seventh century contest, but the societies that now carrry it do so, much like a cross that Jesus may have carried in the burdening sense while about to be crucified. Wake up and understand the reality. Human and economic development requires forgoing archaic ideas and absorbing liberating ideas that may help in the human journey forward. With the projected Pakistani population in another 40 years at 339 Million (thats double the Pakistani current population) no holier than thou attitude will help Pakistan and its inhabitants. By rejecting modernity and drawing a veil like curtain all you are doing is ensuring that the in another 40 years the world will be forcing a large human population, into ghetto like conditions. It is the failing of the Pakistani leadership as well as the educated class brainwashed with ideas out of touch with reality, that is ultimately responsible for the future of this unfortunate land.

Jeff H | 13 years ago | Reply @Canuckistani: "Forget what the Western media says, forget what your own media says, talk to people around the world as individuals, and listen to what they have to say. I wish peace for Pakistan, I wish only good things." If that is considered "talking down" then we have nothing more to discuss, you and I.

Jeff H | 13 years ago | Reply The religious debates of the entire WORLD can be summed up in this poem from John Godfrey Saxe: ================================= The Six Blind Men and the Elephant It was six men of Indostan To learning much inclined, Who went to see the Elephant (Though all of them were blind), That each by observation Might satisfy his mind. The First approach'd the Elephant, And happening to fall Against his broad and sturdy side, At once began to bawl: "God bless me! but the Elephant Is very like a wall!" The Second, feeling of the tusk, Cried, -"Ho! what have we here So very round and smooth and sharp? To me 'tis mighty clear This wonder of an Elephant Is very like a spear!" The Third approached the animal, And happening to take The squirming trunk within his hands, Thus boldly up and spake: "I see," quoth he, "the Elephant Is very like a snake!" The Fourth reached out his eager hand, And felt about the knee. "What most this wondrous beast is like Is mighty plain," quoth he, "'Tis clear enough the Elephant Is very like a tree!" The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear, Said: "E'en the blindest man Can tell what this resembles most; Deny the fact who can, This marvel of an Elephant Is very like a fan!" The Sixth no sooner had begun About the beast to grope, Then, seizing on the swinging tail That fell within his scope, "I see," quoth he, "the Elephant Is very like a rope!" And so these men of Indostan Disputed loud and long, Each in his own opinion Exceeding stiff and strong, Though each was partly in the right, And all were in the wrong! MORAL. So oft in theologic wars, The disputants, I ween, Rail on in utter ignorance Of what each other mean, And prate about an Elephant Not one of them has seen!

Jeff H | 13 years ago | Reply You keep accusing me of "talking down" to Pakistanis. How interesting. Does THIS sound like "talking down"? "Forget what the Western media says, forget what your own media says, talk to people around the world as individuals, and listen to what they have to say. I wish peace for Pakistan, I wish only good things." No, I am NOT talking down, not at all, YOU are putting forth a KNEE-JERK reaction.

Canuckistani | 13 years ago | Reply @abbas: If anything we have TOO MUCH outside influence. Tsk tsk abbas...how shameful that you act as their chamcha despite all that is happening in our country. You choose to side with the foreigners who speak to us with the kind of holier than thou attitude that needs no further comment once you read his posts...and you side with him over a Pakistani who feels that we should not tolerate this kind of interference? Tsk tsk....I see the class of the slave minded is alive and well

Jeff H | 13 years ago | Reply And one more thing... I'd like to address both Burger Boy and Canuckistani. YES, I AM a foreigner, but because I am, you have absolutely no idea what my political and spiritual views are, or what they have been all through my life. You are content to paint me with one broad brush in a sweeping generalization that YOU classify as "All Americans". That makes you a blind man, speaking about the color blue in the sky, which you have never seen. If you would like a bit of insight into the kind of arguments Americans have had over the years while our government waged wars for profit, maybe take a minute and watch this clip. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKEZoY-TMG4 I am simply saying that my GUT tells me that Pakistan is headed down a dangerous path. I say it because WE saw much the same thing happen HERE in America in years past and we have seen a recent resurgence of it lately. Ignore the warnings at your own risk, pretend that you know everything better. So far, from where I sit, I can say that it has not worked out very well for you. I see failure unless you open your eyes and realize that we are all on the same planet.

abbas | 13 years ago | Reply It appears that Canuckistani and Burger Boy would prefer to debate the gradual extinction of civilized society in a Pakistan without any input from World opinion. As I have been saying all along people who choose to restrict debate to slightly differing opinions within, are doing Pakistan or its society no favor in the larger context of its membership in global society. They are in fact inviting a self imposed isolation on Pakistani society. I forsee a very serious shortcoming in society when the fear of outside opinion influencing the debate turns countries into erecting, iron curtains, bamboo curtains, and in this case what could be termed as into a veiled curtain. Things will only go worse in the next few decades, and this time in history will eventually be recognised as lost decades for Pakistani society while the world will move on. The choice is clear and Pakistan is being lost to ideas that are not supportive of economic and human development.

Jeff H | 13 years ago | Reply @Canuckistani: The fabric of YOUR society? You are sitting here, using a computer on the internet, sitting in your blue jeans, driving your cars or riding your motorcycles, in a home powered with electricity, and you're telling us in the West about "the fabric of your society". This is as hypocritical as a casino owner ranting about the evils of gambling The fact is, your "fabric" depends on inventions from the West and indeed the United States itself, and from engineers who trained in the United States. Give all of that up and then we'll talk. Till then, you're nothing more than a bunch of spoiled children who won't take responsibility for your foaming at the mouth fanatics, who ALSO use these same INFIDEL luxuries.

Canuckistani | 13 years ago | Reply @Jeff H: Jeff...I said the fabric of OUR society....that does not include you...you are a foreigner. Why are you interfering in other peoples' business? It serves absolutely no purpose; if your intention is to change our society, you are actually making more enemies by talking down to us and interfering in our matters. If your intention is to provide equality to minorities in Pakistan, a foreigner coming over to talk down to us and interfere in our matters will only make things worse for them. I don't know what exactly you think you are achieving here, but I should point out to you that you are doing more harm than good.

Burger Boy | 13 years ago | Reply Jeff, you are a typical westerner. You invade our country without reason and then call us barbarians. You kill tens of thousands and we're the killers because some people aming us allegedly attacked you...and those people were your own pawns to begin with. Do yourself a favor and go back where you came from....you are not welcome here

Jeff H | 13 years ago | Reply Okay Burger Boy, let's go with YOUR assumptions about the so called "evil West", okay/ I "get" your assertions, we the USA are Ancient Rome, we've plundered, colonized and exploited nearly every nation on earth for the better part of a century. So now please, tell us all why it is justifiable for YOU, who are playing the role of the BARBARIANS, to kill off the USA and the WEST, when it is clear to the entire world that you do not possess the knowledge, skill or even the motivation to maintain those inventions CREATED BY the evil West which you now enjoy? Does Pakistan and the larger Arab/Muslim world possess the capability to manufacture high tech communications, computers, automobiles, alternative energy, factory made clothing, plastics, or even create paved roads, modern hospital and health facilities, or even the capability of REFINING your own oil? The answer is, NO...you do not. You do not possess even the most rudimentary of these, and neither does any other Arab/Muslim nation. And so when you do succeed (as you are sure you will) in destroying the Western civilized world and the USA in particular, you will have also succeeded in ushering in what the BARBARIANS ushered in when they sacked ROME, another DARK AGES. No, you will NOT possess the ability to pilot the Arab/Muslim world to the top of math and science as you once did, because large scale starvation, disease, economic collapse and destruction will overwhelm you, the collapse of the market for oil on which you depend will knock the legs out from under you. And the rest of the world will NOT THANK YOU for the Dark Ages either, they will hate you for it. And your own people, who are just now starting to get a taste for modernity, will also hate you. As I said, the SEVENTH CENTURY is OVER, it's in the past, and you cannot bring it back, not even with all the guns and bombs in the world. The USA and the West are not the sole exploiters and colonizers in all of history, only the latest ones, but we have also given many contributions to the world and have made many things possible which you now depend on. And you have NO PLAN for the future. Consider carefully what you are attempting to do. I place my bet on your absolute and utter failure, because you are too fanatical, too narrow minded, too fundamentalist and too filled with fear to succeed. You will only succeed in destroying the world and yourselves along with it.

Burger Boy | 13 years ago | Reply @"Jeff"...unless you are a Muslim, you have no business in this matter. And please don't gimme any speech about what happens in Pakistan affects the west...it is the west that has been colonizing, exploiting and now waging war against the third world for over a hundred years....you don't get to lecture us!

Jeff H | 13 years ago | Reply If the only faith options are fundamentalism, particularly the disgusting perversion that Islamic fundamentalists make of their faith, or no religion, I will opt for no religion.

Jeff H | 13 years ago | Reply @Canuckistani: "The fabric of our society is Islam, whether the liberals like it or not, that is a fact. That the will of the majority is that Pakistan remain Islamic is not in dispute by any liberal…so why not accept that fact and move on trying to take that into account?" The issue isn't whether or not Islam forms the fabric of Pakistani society but rather WHO gets to decide what constitutes PROPER Islam. The direction that the radicals are taking is going to leave a dearth of the very things that Islam stands for. Fundamentalism is a mental disease. Radical fundamentalism is a terminal disease, both for the sufferer and his victims, and for society as a whole.

Canuckistani | 13 years ago | Reply @"American", I am surprised you used that moniker and then acted as if you had some moral high ground over Pakistan. America is the most prolific aggressor in the world and has been in a near constant state of war with one country or another for the last 50 years. Maybe you missed the fact that in America, people of color were murdered by KKK for not being white enough. Maybe you missed the fact that the US govt has been responsible for millions of deaths from Vietnam or Iraq to Afghanistan to South America to what seems like Africa once again. Which moral high ground do you think you hold to be speaking in such judgmental terms?

American | 13 years ago | Reply @Canuckistani: "we must find our answers from within our own historical context." You have found the answer already: Majority killing the minority. You have been doing it for 63 years. Soon, you will have a very "pure" Pakistan.

Canuckistani | 13 years ago | Reply In Turkey you will be treated as a criminal and punished for insulting Kemal Ataturk, the secular fascist that imposed his fringe ideology on the religious majority. Anybody who is willing can google the kind of oppression the religious majority faced under the secularism of Kemal Ataturk. today in France and throughout Europe, the so-called Secular countries are placing increasing restrictions on the practice of Islam from banning the construction of mosques to minarets to the banning of "overt displays of religion". Here on this forum we see plenty of examples of secular/liberal fanaticism with comments such as, "If it takes 100,000 dead mullah’s...." Would not the murder of 100,000 people be considered a crime against humanity? Secularism is not a cure-all contrary to the fancies of Pakistan's liberal crowd. It worked in Europe and in other places because it fit into their historical context and came from within. Secularism does not belong in Pakistan and we must find our answers from within our own historical context. The fabric of our society is Islam, whether the liberals like it or not, that is a fact. That the will of the majority is that Pakistan remain Islamic is not in dispute by any liberal...so why not accept that fact and move on trying to take that into account? Why do you think you will succeed in confrontation against the majority when the liberals are nothing but an irrelevant group on the fringe that could never muster up the courage to fight for anything? The entire position is ridiculous and a total waste of time.

Jeff H | 13 years ago | Reply Pakistan has a choice to make. A religion which is enforced at the point of an assassin's gun or the fuse of a bomb is a religion which is doomed. Ten thousand years of recorded history proves that narrow minded extremists eventually alienate all of their followers and they are soon cast out due to the outrage of the people. But along the way, Pakistan shall suffer and pay dearly. It is comforting and reassuring to hear so many rational voices drowning out the dry cackle of the fanatic few, but the reassurance is short lived because the few still derive financial support from the ignorant who have more money than brains. Forget what the Western media says, forget what your own media says, talk to people around the world as individuals, and listen to what they have to say. I wish peace for Pakistan, I wish only good things. Your faith is strong enough to stand on its own two strong legs in a secular and free republic. All it needs is a confident and brave majority to stand up and speak up, and cast out the fanatical few, inshAllah. Don't wait too long.

mohammed+abbasi | 13 years ago | Reply Time to look at how Ataturk dealt with the Mullahs and follow suit - the alternative is we give Mullahs - Pakistan!

Emmon Khan | 13 years ago | Reply Mr. Qadri and anyone defending him including the mullahs or the lawyers who showered him with flowers are the real enemies of the state, the people of Pakistan, and most of all Islam. These criminals are destroying all of us and they are destroying the spirit of religion. They are enemies of reason, justice and civilisation. He is a cheat, a brute someone who undermined the state of Pakistan and defamed its people by treachrously and callously killing the very person whom he had the duty to defend and protect. If bravery and Islam falls to this level, people will simply leave it. This is not Islam at all. Islam means honesty, truthfulness and dignity and not shamefully killing someone who had no clue to your evil intentions. It is only in Pakistan that a cheat and murderer like Mr. Qadri could become a hero of Islam! What a shame!

Haris Kalim | 13 years ago | Reply Instead of condemning the intolerant segments, Read Mullahs, the commentators here should have joined the vigil gathering in Lahore to condemn the killer and his supporters of late Salman Taseer. Look at those mullahs and their supporters in how big numbers they came on the Karachi streets! It's time for actions not words if we want to make Pakistan a coherent,tolerant,pluralist and peaceful society.

abbas | 13 years ago | Reply However I still need to emphasize that Pakistanis need to recognise, are they going to be a part of the modern world or they would rather isolate themselves from economic, cultural, and exposure to other heritages which neumerically outnumber the Muslim population on this globe

Adv.Alby Raymond Parackal | 13 years ago | Reply tolerance is religion others are cowardice. muslim should stand for tolerance; those who advocate intolerance have no place in civil society.

feroze | 13 years ago | Reply @Numair Hussain I feel sorry for people like you who support Murder and incite hate using Religion as an excuse. Did the Prophet (PBUH) condemn to death those that did not agree with him. Islam is a religion of Love and Peace, not hate and war. If ST did something against the teachings of Islam then it is for Allah to punish him on the day of Judgement. It is not the job of a self confessed murderer and those that promote him like this Malik Mumtaz Qadri who is tried, convicted, sentenced as per the LAWS of the Land and not some crazy interpretation of a MAN MADE LAW!!

Numair Hussain | 13 years ago | Reply I think Malik Mumtaz Qadri did right; Salman Taseer would've gotten justice otherwise for he was the governor.

abbas | 13 years ago | Reply Kamran Khan wonders why everyone is blaming General Zia, when the death sentence may have been added by Nawz in 1991. No wonder that the majority of Pakistanis continue to draw fine distinctions between who may have done what. Nawaz's rise to the forefront of Pakistani politics has evolved from the same chain of events and personalities that have continuously carried out treasonous acts against the Constitution of Pakistan sometimes putting it in abeyance and at times even making attempts at the Constitution's abrogation. Now the concept of laws framed by elected representatives has been made subservient to arcahic ideas. The age of reason and the political development of an electorate has been permanently arrested for decades to come. It may take more than a few generations before the process of constitutional development and evolution returns to this unfortunate society.

Dani | 13 years ago | Reply These Mullahs should be nuked to death.

Numair Hussain | 13 years ago | Reply 99% of all Pakistanis are in absolute support of Ghazi Malik Mumtaz Qadri. That is in their hearts, you cannot erase it therefrom, try your best anyone that is naive to the degree of believing they can. Lovers of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) are not just on the streets, even Zardari cannot do anything about it because he knows the lovers of the Prophet (peace be upon him) are within the premises within which he thinks he is the safest on Earth.

Sumaan | 13 years ago | Reply The Western Media tries to paint it like it's the issue of radicalism, it's not the issue of radicalism, it's the issue of loving the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him); which is the most essential part of Islam after worshiping Allah. Those who blend Talibanization/extremism and the teachings of Islam/the essential parts of Islam together, they just use the equation to oppose anything that is Islamic. If moderation is all related to anti-Islam in the books of the West, I and every faithful Muslim have the right to differ.

shahida | 13 years ago | Reply our Govt should also start an Offical-Khutba system like UAE,where only one Official authentic Khutba,written by Authentic scholars is issued througout the country's mosques,This can stop clergymen's selfmade religious views,hatred & sectarian promotion.

Kamran Khan | 13 years ago | Reply Why everybody is blaming Zia for the Blasphemy death sentence clause in the Constitution. He did not do it. It was Nawaz who added it in 1991!

abbas | 13 years ago | Reply The majority of Pakistanis that engage in discussions in these forums, happen to have come to political awareness in the dark days of the General Zia dictatorship or in the the overall political climate which evolved following these deplorable laws imposed thru ordnances by the dictatorship. It is sad to read the majority of readers expressing views which make them out of touch with the reality of global citizenship, where the majority of this globe's residents are not in agreement with the views of either these Pakistanis about the Muslim view of their God, their Apostle and religion. One can only wonder that if it is possible whether Pakistani Muslims will ever be able to transition to accepting a world view different than theirs, or will be forced by this kind of behaviour to live in isolation in a world respectful of views differnet from their own world view.

syed maududi | 13 years ago | Reply liberal extremism, how ironic. ruling Pakistan, corrupt to the core. filthy people now talk about religion. not satisfied with robbing the country blind. allowing our own citizens to be killed by drones. traitors.

Maulana Diesel | 13 years ago | Reply The government needs to take a stand NOW. If they don't all the people who do not want mullah rule in Pakistan will join forces with the Shia and other minorities and pick up the gun. Then you will have a civil war which no one wants.

Zain S | 13 years ago | Reply pakistan was not even called islamic republic when it was first formed. the real reasons for partition were economic supression which was created and fostered by the british to create divisions in the people. the two nation theory is was made invalid on the day of partition, with more muslims living today in india than in pakistan. be rational people.

anonymous | 13 years ago | Reply how many more sane individuals we are willing to lose before taking action against these barbarians? Pakistan's future depends upon the separation of state and religion. if there were genuine democracy or so called shariat (after deciding which one ? deoband, brelvi, ahle hadeeth ?) implemented in Pakistan, freedom of expression, freedom of religion and female education would become a dream. wakeup Pakistan before its too late.

zafar | 13 years ago | Reply these extremist mullahs with there narrow interpretation of islamic interpretation even consider ppl like u and me also infidels/non-muslims/kafir. pakistan was created 4 minorities(muslims in pre-dominated hindu majority india). now its our duty 2 protect the minorities living in pakistan. we have 2 stand up 2 these self proclaimed mullahs. OUT OF 57 MUSLIM COUNTRIES ONLY 3 INCLUDING PAKISTAN PRESCRIBE DEATH PENALTY 4 BLASPHEMY. In INDONESIA its 5 yrs imprisonment, in MALAYSIA , its 2 yrs imrisonment AND SO ON-----4 blasphemy -..Atricle 295 c,death 4 blasphemy, was introduced by Gen.zia.this article is repeatedly been misused against marginalised section of society,minorities,poor ppl,.in most cases its used 2 settle personal scores. i CONDEMN the threats being hurled at bilawal and other ppl expressing their anger over taseer's brutal murder..MULLAHS WHO WANT 2 KILL PPL WHO DISAGREE WITH THEIR VIEWS SHOULD BE CONDEMNED.AND NOT THOSE WHO STAND 4 THE TRUE MESSAGE OF ISLAM i.e TOLERENCE , PEACE , and JUSTICE.

PA | 13 years ago | Reply I partially agree with all three statements above - we need a a little bit of all three to move forward and follow the direction of our great Quaid. My First step is - name change: Make it republic of pakistan rather than Islamic republic of Pakistan - as per the original constitution. Going forward - maybe a model similar to Malaysia should be adopted - i feel they have got it right! Real practitioners of Islamic teaching rather then us - fake and hypocritical. Pakistanis while trying to act as the most pious muslims have become a shame to all muslims and to islam. Basic teachings of Islam have been conveniently forgotten - political parties (mainly formed on the lines of religion) have helped the deterioration of Islamic in Pakistan. Banish all splinter sects such as barelvis, deobandis, wahabis etc etc. They are the real menace.

nadia | 13 years ago | Reply bilawal started his speech by quoting a hadith of PROPHET (p.b.u.h),that said," Beware ! if anyone dared 2 oppress a member of a minority community or has usurped his or her rights, or tortured or took away something forcibly, I (Mohammed,the prophet of Allah) WILL FIGHT ON BEHALF OF THE MINORITY AGAINST THE MUSLIMS ON THE DAY OF JUDGEMENT.'' this was the message of our Holy Prophet(p.b.u.h), who preached 4 and live a life full of religious tolerance,what has now termed as secularism .these self-proclaimed ulemas r a shame 2 the noble message of islam. they have completely destroyed our image as a muslim and pakistanis. ALLAH doesnt need these mullahs 2 defend His faith. we r with u bilawal. WE R FOR JINNAH'S liberal.progressive and peaceful PAKISTAN. LIVE AND LET LIVE.

W.Mateen | 13 years ago | Reply assalamualiakum, im not a staunch muslim neither do i intend on debating....but i severely disagree with mr junaid with his slogan of secular pakistan. pakistan was founded in the name of islam. islam the religion of peace. instead of pointing fingers at mullahs or the relatively moderate religious ppl living in this country we must try making our impression better in the rest of the world....no matter wat forum we get no matter wat line we choose all we need is unity and peace....i agree there are extremes at both ends as for the mullahs and the modern secular ppl but we need to minimze this gap and come on to stand at one point agenda of saving pakistan and its ideology on which it was created back in 1947. its the quaid we need to follow to lead our country out of this darkness and move on to a brighter and more prosperous future!! nobodys happy at a murder and the prophet of Allah (pbuh) said that one mans murder is the murder of the whole human race....how can we call for a secular nation when islam itself is the right path and we need to find the rightness for our country by seeking knowledge from the Quran...may Allah guide us all and it is only Him who can save us from the ultimate disaster we r heading too!!...Ameen

parvez | 13 years ago | Reply How Bilawal will conduct himself in this situation will reflect heavily on his future. He must have realised that ' first impression is the last impression" and that leadership does not come easy.

Ali Haider | 13 years ago | Reply Succumb to mullah pressure now and see what they do to our country. Why is this nut-job jihadi website still up and running?

Junaid Ali Khan | 13 years ago | Reply AGREED TO NOOR LODHI. In this way, aik teer se do shikar. Pakistan will thus be purified to some extent from such fasad ki jarr mullah. Secular pakistan zindabad

feroze | 13 years ago | Reply Spot on Noor. Hope we can stop the slide of this country and return it to the glories envisaged by the Quaid. All these people promoting Hate and Murder in the name of Islam are the real blasphemers and don't deserve to call themselves Muslims. When the Prophet (PBUH) himself forgave so many for much worse who are these self professed to incite others to violence.

Noor Lodi | 13 years ago | Reply If it takes 100,000 dead mullah's and their supporters to abolish the Blasphemy law, then so be it. It will be a small price to pay to save the nation of 170M. President must impost state of emergency and start to go after these evil Mullah's and their supporters. Leave no stone unturned to find then do what it takes to permanently neutralize these evil voices.

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