Taseer did not commit any act of blasphemy in any shape or form.
KITCHENER, ON, CANADA: This is with reference to a report in your newspaper titled “Taseer assassination: The legal basis for incitement to murder”.
While Salmaan Taseer did not commit any act of blasphemy in any shape or form, he was, in fact, very insensitive in what he said about the blasphemy law. My question is that would he have paid heed to Aasia Bibi’s plight if there wasn’t pressure on the government from foreign countries?
May I point out that there are extremists on both sides of the political/ideological divide. This means that liberals can be extremist in their thinking as well and this may perhaps explain why even some moderates seem to have sided with the other side in the debate following Mr Taseer’s assassination.
Instead of inviting the ire of those opposed to him, the governor should have let the law take its course so that Aasia Bibi’s case could have gone through the legal system. I pray for Mr Taseer and hope that his killer and everybody else involved in it get the punishment they deserve.
Syed Z Haider
Published in The Express Tribune, January 9th, 2011.
