Salem witch trials of Pakistan

Murders committed under the guise of defending religion within Pakistan are making global headlines once again. An optimist would expect that after another gruesome incident, the leaders would rid the nation of laws whose misuse could sanction killings in broad daylight without any consequences. However, murder after murder occurs and such laws remain intact. The fact that laws protecting such behaviour continue to exist is evidence that the government has become way too comfortable with extremism.

Most blasphemy cases in Pakistan have way too much in common with the Salem witch trials of colonial America in the 1690s. Mass hysteria, religious extremism, false accusations and a severe failure of the justice system led to the execution of 20 colonists accused of practising witchcraft along with a few who opposed the witch-hunts. However, most agree that the backbone of theocracy was crushed in America as a result of these trials. The seeds for a secular state were sown that aided in the US separation of church and state.



What will it take for Pakistan to reach the same conclusion that the American settlers did when they shut the witch trials down more than 300 years ago? If a gory video of a mob beating and stripping a lifeless body doesn’t cause a paradigm shift in the way critical thinking is approached, then what will? Mashal Khan’s funeral was poorly attended because local clerics declared that anyone who attends the funeral will be committing a sin. In comparison, the funeral of Mumtaz Qadri, who killed Punjab governor Salman Taseer, was attended by thousands. An innocent victim is scorned and a killer is mourned, this is how low our values have fallen.

Sadly, Mashal’s death is unlikely to bring about any radical shift in these laws that make a mockery of Pakistan’s entire justice system. The murder of a governor and a minister did not amend the blasphemy law, and Mashal’s doesn’t have the benefit of such political clout. It’s no wonder that Mashal’s father wants this case to be tried in the military courts. He knows that he’s not going to receive justice. The incumbent leader of the nation went unpunished despite evidence of corruption, offshore companies and money laundering. Asia Bibi’s blasphemy case offers further proof. Her hearings are constantly being delayed while she continues to languish in jail for the past eight years. Governor Taseer and Shahbaz Bhatti, the slain minister of minorities’ affairs, both paid with their lives for speaking up for her.



Any sane person witnessing these murders can’t help but wonder why Pakistan’s society is so bloodthirsty? An accusation is all it takes to whip up enough fervour to lynch a student’s body in broad daylight on a university campus. In fact, just few days after Mashal’s murder, a violent mob was ready to lynch a mentally ill man in Chitral over alleged blasphemy.

Such a toxic bond between religion and politics was highlighted during the Salem witch trials and the public demanded change. In Pakistan, not only has this bond grown stronger but it has also been allowed to seep into nearly every aspect of daily life. The combination of increasingly rampant poverty, a largely illiterate population and theocratic law are a recipe for disaster. Things will only become worse until politicians work up the courage to stop the barbarity in Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 1^st, 2017.

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