The accused say none of the charges against them have been proven. PHOTO: FILE
A judge of the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Tuesday ordered that statements of four men accused of distributing a daily newspaper of the Ahmadi community, which allegedly contained blasphemous content, should be recorded on April 26.
The four are among six Ahmadis facing charges under Sections 295-B (defiling or desecration of a copy of the Holy Quran) and 298-C (an Ahmadi posing as a Muslim) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and Section 11-W of the Anti-Terrorism Act in a case registered with the Islampura police station.
The complainant had accused the Ahmadis of printing and distributing Jamaat-i-Ahmadiyya’s community newspaper Al-Fazal, which he had claimed carried blasphemous content.
He had stated in his complaint that Khalid Ashfaq was president of the Ahmadi organisation in Kareem Park and had been distributing Al-Fazal amongst people, even though the Home Department had banned the newspaper in October 2011. The police were informed and had taken Khalid Ashfaq and Tahir Ahmed into custody when they were distributing copies of the newspaper. A printing press was also raided where allegedly blasphemous material was printed. The police later arrested Faisal Ahmed and Azhar Zareef. All four had been freed on bail. Daily Al-Fazal editor Abdul Sami and another accused Tahir Mehdi have not been arrested so far and have been declared proclaimed offenders.
The four accused who were granted bail said in the court that none of the charges under the penal provisions invoked against them had been proven.
They said that the complainant had a grudge against them simply because they were Ahmadis. The counsel for complainant contended that the accused had committed the cited offences by distributing a banned newspaper, which he said contained blasphemous material.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 23rd, 2014.
COMMENTS (9)
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@R.A: You comment: "Blasphemous contents" Can someone tell us the exact words of Blasphemy used by in the paper.
No one can quote or write in any news the exact words deemed as blasphemy. Doing so, would be an act of blasphemy itself. I think that even the judgement of the court will not mention the words or quote the acts of blasphemy for the same reasons. It is enough to say or claim anything as blasphemy so long as it is against a non-muslim or persons considered as non-muslims.
https://www.alislam.org/alfazl/ Please read yourself and make your mind, who are terrorist?
@R.A: Why you ask such difficult questions. It is land of pure and any one in power has freedom to do and interpret the way he or she likes it. What a country!
Day by day Pakistani society is dipping deeper to deeper in the pit of religious exploitation, bigotry and inhumane attitude. It is not only few fanatics but majority is suffering now. Authorities, legal system, educational institutes, other government and private sectors are full of people with this mindset and openly propagating it. Very few left who have still courage to act like a real mard-e-momin and raise their concerns against injustice and exploitation committed on the name of religion. The blasphemy law has become a joke in Pakistan. No other country has legalized the exploitation of the religion as much as Pakistan has done and still not realizing the variant laws that promoting extremist mindset.
Things have gotten so bad that I even have to think twice before writing in favour of a minority. This just doesn't make sense, leave alone all the freedom of speech thing, why would an already persecuted community not talk off , not text but "publish" a blasphemous newspaper in a country where they know that the only consequence is death. Apparently these things rarely make sense to our courts. I Live outside Pakistan where all my fellow muslims want equal rights for themselves but never talk in favor of minorities of our home countries.
"Blasphemous contents" Can someone tell us the exact words of Blasphemy used by in the paper.Section 11-W of Anti terrorism act? What exactly is that act? Persecution of minorities act? Never heard about any TTP member getting any punishment for suicide bombings in densely populated areas, beheadings of soldiers, or killings by any other means, I guess those were all peace keeping efforts and obviously a peacefull minority of Ahmadis is the one spreading terror by.. Wait for it.. Yes by publishing newspaper for internal circulation. Can the situation get any more comedic or disgusting then it already is?
May God help the weak and persecuted, and may he help and protect those few good men and women who raise their voices against the injustice committed in the name of the religion of peace.
Anti Terror Court? You got to be kidding me. The terrorists are getting terrorized by the victims. Way to go Pakistan and the Punjab government.
When anti-terrorism courts are used to persecute minorities rather than prosecute terrorists, are we surprised at what is happening in the country?!!!