The All Pakistan Ulema Council (APUC) and Pakistan Interfaith League, which comprises minority religions in the country, were also among those who came out in support of Rimsha, demanding punishment for those who had made these false accusations.
Tahir Ashrafi, chairman of the the APUC and part of the DPC leadership, condemned the demands of mobs who pressurise police regularly for registering blasphemy charges, adding that this was pushing law and order in Pakistan towards the “law of the jungle”.
"We see Rimsha as a test case for Pakistan's Muslims, Pakistan's minorities and for the government," Ashrafi said. "We don't want to see injustice done with anyone. We will work to end this climate of fear."
While Rimsha is held in a maximum security prison which, according to her counsel, is deeply traumatic for her, the report of a medical examination for attesting her mental condition and age is expected to be presented in court today (Tuesday). The report may shed light on and pave the way for the verdict in the girl’s case.
"This is the first time in the history of Pakistan that the Muslim community and scholars have stood up for non-Muslims," said Sajid Ishaq, chairman of the Pakistan Interfaith League. "We are together, demanding justice, demanding an unbiased investigation. And those abusing this law should be taken care of."
Rimsha is believed to be between 11 to 16 years of age and reportedly has Down ’s Syndrome.
Following the reaction that Rimsha’s community of 300 Christian families faced, they have decided not to ever go back and are living elsewhere.
"We'll never go back. We have young children. How can we go back? They won't even let us say our prayers there," said Zahid Pervez, a member of the same community. "We will sit on the roads, for however long it takes, until we are given somewhere else to live."
Correction: The previous headline of this article had stated that the arrest was condemned by the DPC. The statement was given by a leader of the DPC.
COMMENTS (87)
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It is light of real Islam which lightened mullah after many.
Pakistan is an islamic country &is totally committed to protect Alla & Rasul,s name & word.So courts,police & mobs should immediately inflict punishment to whoever is accused of burning a paper which looks like quran or even thinks about insulting rasul.Age ,Gender,state of mind is immaterial.It may be one year old or 100 yr old.May be a woman,man or mad person.This is the only thing pakistanis can do as they are way behind the world in everything else.So let pakistani courts order this child to be hanged immediately to protect Alla.s word even if they are only 1% sure.Otherwise the judge may be killed as just punishment.
@THE: If your minister can be killed for suggesting changes to the Blasphemy Law,then what chance has this girl have of living out her natural life.Her family needs to be relocated.
@ADEEL: The real test is whether they will push for an ammendment to the blasphemy law.The arrest of this young girl has resulted in a lot of bad press in Pakistan and worldwide.There was simply no way that anyone could justify this arrest.Its just a political move by the two parties.The leopard does not change its spots.If they were sincere,they would not have waited so long before coming out in support of this young girl.Wait for the next blasphemy case .If the accused is an adult,these same groups will be baying for blood.These groups did not come out in support of the deranged man who was burnt to death for blasphemy
Can someone post here the chronology of events that led to her arrest. There is a force who are trying to mud sling their faces because they don't know any better. Who arrested and her ? This has to stop. Army should help Pakistan from becoming a rough state. :/
that is a good move and will lead the eqaual rights fo the minorties living in Pakistan,
The khatame nabuwaat boys are feeling the pinch, they are not getting visas to go to civilised countries anymore. As a result they are just paying lip service
Good! And the accuser Mullahs should be dealt with by the fullest extent of the law
now y isnt PPP taking any action
For once the Ulemas are practising what they preach. Let's hope the poor girl and her family are reunited. And I really do believe that whoever was involved in accusing Rimsha should be put on trial. An example should be made out of them, so that one doesn't just go ahead and start accusing minorities without any concrete proof. Christians in Pakistan are already living on the fringes of society. I really don't believe that they are going to jeopardize what little they have by 'conspiring against Islam'!
only in Pakistan is the word liberal now used as an insult
just wait and watch! :)
Drones, Drama and DPC. This is the summary. (1) Army withdraws support for DPC. (2) Hafiz Saeed tames down. (3) DPC knows that Waziristan Action is imminent. (4) Political section, including large section of PPP see firm US attitude. (5) China sends strong message on attempts to exploit Burma (6) Germany send strong message by exhibiting cartoons. (7) Spin doctors such as Media, column writers, realizes that their attempts to fool the world have failed.
Someone should be really a big fat fool to believe that change has come all of a sudden in one day.
All said, I would welcome a change if it is for real. The change should be seen in the minds of the population of Pakistan. Comments on virtues of Islam and quoting verses is just to hoodwink. To date, DPC is just a reflection of the mindset of the population.
Would like to know how the girls who have been converted over the last 10 years are doing in their new families. Media is conspicuously silent on this. How are they feeling at their new homes. They should be brought to a camp as a group and be allowed to share their stories in front of the media and their Hindu families and friends without the presence of any politician or religious leaders.
When UK educated leaders like Imran Khan have kept conspicuous silence, Nawaz Sherif does not care, and only Zardari has some heart (although many of his party members are against him), it is hard to believe that a real change has happened are even being considered by the Pakistani population.
CHANGES IN THE HEARTS AND ATTITUDE ARE IMPORTANT. NOT CHANGES IN LAWS AND DRAMAS.
PS the comments here just prove how easy to manipulate the pakistani public is.....And how it takes everything at face value......Someone says white........therefore "white"......Try reading between the lines and figure a few things out......If these religious organisations had WANTED to condemn things before or take a stand before ....during all the countless incidents that have happened here.......[from gang rapes to persecuting minority groups to burning people alive to shooting governors who are brave enough to TAKE A STAND!!].......... they would have done it long ago. They have very obviously been "asked" to issue statements condemning this kid's imprisonment. How they must be churning inside.....
@umer Sir, you can be that name, Quran is Open to all of us. We do not need mullahs to understand our religion. Collectively we can teach the ignorant and misguided mullas. Just a thought, with best regards.
Quick, someone hand them a Nobel Peace Prize
/s
They're late, and would unlikely have condemned this without all the international attention. It gives their political right-wing allies' some leeway, and allows themselves be perceived as 'just', politically legit or mainstream and silence the critics in doing something 'exceptional'.
Its a welcome development if sincere, though maybe little comfort to the Christian minorities, but it does not hide the fact that DPC is represented as a front by questionable militant organizations and extremist personalities and KeN is behind a lot of bigotry and hate which involves abusing the blasphemy law.
@sick of this nonsense: All you know is cringing whenever you see something good coming out of form the religious people..Its around time for fake-liberals/Indians to put their jealousy and hate aside and start appreciating each other despite of what his religious beliefs are..
@sick of this nonsense you think liberal has more brain and you claim to be a liberal. You must've been a genius. :P
@Zeeshan Sheikh: I really think you have zero idea what is a liberal. The intellect level is very low if you think all liberals want to do is bash the mullas. They bash the practices that hinder free practice to religion, political views, education etc. In pakistan being a liberal means you are using a brain.
This is not a bold step by APUC, the bold step is to stand to relegate the blasphemy law altogether!! What respect do you give to Allah and his Prophet by kissing and hugging names and scriptures. True respect is to follow the teachings!! Stop killing of minorities and stop killing of reverts (from Islam) since our beloved Prophet never taught us this. Mullahs need to reiterate their understanding of the holiest of teachings and stop imposing their mis-understanding on the general public!!
Finally! hibernating mullahs got time off from spreading hate to helping an innocent child. How many days has it been since that 11 yo child has been held up in that adult jail cell, more than 10 days since that bearded Satan accused this kid of conspiracy.... so finally after worldwide outcry the so called religious leaders of Islamic republic of Pakistan condemn this act....lets see how far this condemn nation goes if the culprits who accused this child will suffer the consequences or get away like the killers of the mentally unstable man who was also accused of blasphemy....
Yaroo !! not all our mullahs are FASAAD Bil SABILULLH, there are good educated people too, who could not find a decent job and in this capacity, at least they are trying to be nice.
The Mullahs deserve accolades for this particular stand. Every blasphemy accused cannot be burned to death, as many "gentlemen" seemingly believe!
I am confident, however, that they will never support repeal of the blasphemy law which is the handiwork of a dictator who made populist laws when he needed "Islamic" fervour to hold on to power.
“This is the first time in the history of Pakistan that the Muslim community and scholars have stood up for non-Muslims,” said Sajid Ishaq, chairman of the Pakistan Interfaith League while referring to the fact that the other 65 years after independence the Muslim community and scholars were busy choking the life out of Islam and other every other innocent by stander religion they could get their hands on
@Ch. Allah Daad: So, in your opinion the girl should spend the rest of her life in solitary confinement just because there are "fanatics" who are out to kill her? You have a really twisted logic, just like shahbaz sharif asking the Taliban not to attack Punjab or Punjabis!!
Many fanatics are out there to kill her. These Mullahs have no control on fanatics. Keep the poor girl in safe custody
Where are Mullah bashers now?? Nearly 50 comments on an ET post, but no Mullah bashing... Surprise... Surprise...
@Adharsh: Who are they to stand against the interests of Pakistan? How many hundred millions were backing them in their protests since our population is over 180 Million?. Any elected government gets votes from millions of Pakistanis and thus whatever they do has a backing of them unless majority of Pakistanis come out on the streets and protest in millions. If they are so loved by the people then how come they aren't able to get enough seats to form their own government?. They are just hooligans and blackmailers and pawns used by the establishment not knowing its damaging our future. @liberal-bashers: Please once in your life time take up dictionary to check meaning of LIBERAL and you would love to call yourself a liberal. Speaking against injustice or criminals like DPC is not a crime.
Please release the small girl.She know nothing about blasphemy..
@Logic Europe Why should there be restrictions in how much land one can own? The policies are such that poor people continue to spend their lives in illiteracy and that needs to be changed so that they can also be able to own whatever amounts of land. Today it is land,m then tomorrow it is money and then it is food. We do not believe in communism. We believe in intellectual parity. Every person in this country should be armed with education, what he does with it should be his decision once he is of age. If he wants to be a slave so be it. I will definitely hire some. I have no respect for people who have the resources to educate themselves and then squander that opportunity. The ones I feel that need my help are the ones that are being exploited because they are not being educated. I will fight tooth and nail till the day that I die. The place where I was born and live is my top most and only concern, all these political and religious nonsense come a very far second.
Those who are saying they bowed down to westrn pressure, I guess they dnt know that DPC has stood firm against Nato trucks and drones, where they faced similar pressure. Lets acknowledge the good will. The best solution is to have peacful existance, if you are still not satisfied, then I am sorry your solution is to eliminate the other side completely.
@Zeeshan Sheikh: Liberals or Indians
This is highly appreciable move. Liberals are left with no words to bash them again. Similarly the indians seem to be absent form here
Good move & punish those who made world-wide story out of nothing
please check if Einstein's Relativity and Newton's laws have stopped working in Pakistan because mullah's mind is showing some sign of working.
@Zeeshan Sheikh: Shut up and STOP using the word liberal. Don't you see it just proves whatever the 'liberals' have been trying to prove, that the blasphemy can and is being misused but narrow-minded people like you were defending even this case which clearly has been dismissed by the likes of DPC as abuse of the law. Open your eyes and mind and come out of this stupid liberal conservative divide when common sense should prevail instead.
wisdom seems to prevail, not only minorities but the blasphemy laws are misused against the Muslims are also sufferers, the laws need to re-visit....
and my faith in Pakistan has been restored
@Acorn Guts: Great idea! As we all know the traffic police is incredibly corrupt and misuses traffic laws to extort money from commuters, so let's scrap all traffic laws.
@Adeel: They are posting on this news item under the name Adeel.
it is time to catch those who gave those papers/scriptures to this poor retarded girl.....they are the real evil ones ..who want to create Chaos in Pakistan
@ET your last paragraph is wrong. Majority of Christians are back in their homes. watch bolta pakistan last night.
I smell some $$$$$$ . . . .?????
Why you call it Surprising Move .. They are Patriotic Pakistanis & Muslims thats why ?? Be Ashamed
This these DP people are doing on instruction from somwhere to save face in world. These people have warped view about world and the can never become normal people.
where are the fake liberals now??
please release the girl and protect the minorities.....and educate the ignorant Muslim neighbors of this christian girl to peacefully coexist through Ulemas.
not sure of mullas motive .. but if you look at the outcome ..yes this will help in restoring the trust among followers of different faiths.
Condeming something that every decent human being should condem is doing the right thing. Now lets see if the government and our law makers can muster the courage to ensure that this law is not misused.
Oh my NOW where are these liberals who keep taking a shot and start bashing out at MULLAHS endlessly without any reason or proof.
The international condemnation and pressure on the persecution and incarceration of 11 years old Christian has finally got to the maulanas and even they are now forced to distance themselves from this issue.
A small victory for the humanity. A small defeat for the extremism.
Work is not over. Only continued pressure and condemnation of these laws will eventually force the maulanas to abandon them altogether.
Better late than never. I only wish they would have done this years ago; Pakistan's reputation as a unsafe heaven for minorities has been tarnished beyond repair. Sincerely hope and prray that these are not hollow claims and they will stick to their words.
Though i may not agree on many on many off the issues with DPC... This BOLD STEP taken by them has to be commended... GOOD JOB ANYWAY
What a dramatic change in their attitude?
Good step by APUC and DUC. She should be immediately released (atleast on bail untill proven guilty).
am surprised ! Hyenas standing in support for the deer ? This is very un - Pakistani behaviour ! Come on guys !
This is a very good response from APUC and DPC and others. Only they can help this poor girl and other minorities from this mind;less persecution. Every sane thinking Pakistani will appreciate their stand on this issue. First time I feel a ray of hope.
This can't be real. Liberals won't believe it. what liberals gonna do now exploit another story???
Do I start being optimistic!!??, lets sense starts prevailing among our ulemas. as a First step Ulema should denounce the mob who gathered around the house of the girl to burn it and they also should disqualify the Imam who says that minor girl was conspiring against Islam.
good.
This is really nice, JuD has also been soft on twitter and these guys should really take stand and save their religion
So we agree these blasphemy laws are indeed flawed and are being used to persecute minorities? That they do not apply to all situation and hence should be suspended until we can put some sanity into our understanding of religious sanctity first? Now that we have the sponsors of this law taking this great step towards sensibility, let's just address this fiasco once and for all
Now this is something refreshingly good. Hope Muslim leaders will continue to speak until justice is not done.
The rich know how to protect their money ,,they seem to join PTI How are these people different from the others?? shouldn't PTI decalre . like in India , that no body will own more than 100 canals of land..!