Allegations of sacrilege remain rife

Faisalabad district police register 11 cases in 8 months

JARANWALA:

At least 11 cases of blasphemy and sacrilege have been reported in Faisalabad district during the ongoing year.

According to official record, the police registered cases against 13 people suspected of being involved in the alleged incidents.

The suspects facing the allegations included two women and all of them were arrested by the police.

According to district police officials, the department had submitted challans in the courts after completing the required procedure in seven of the 11 cases.

Three other cases are still being investigated, while one has been referred back with objections over the charge sheet documents.

Among the incidents, two were reported in areas falling under the jurisdiction of the Samnabad police station and the others in various other areas, including Civil Lines, Rail Bazaar, Madina Town, Mansoorabad, Nishatabad, D Type Colony, Samundri and Jaranwala city and Saddar.

In one incident reported from the City Housing Colony in Nishatabad, three people, including a woman, had been accused of blasphemy, after which a mob had vandalised houses and vehicles.

Former city police officer (CPO) Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi had reached the spot during the riots and brought the situation under control after arresting the suspects facing the allegation and registering a case.

After investigating the case, the Superintendent of Police (SP) of Madina Town, Hafiz Kamran Asghar, had sent the challan to the court, but it drew objections and was returned.

Muslims made up a large chunk of people accused of committing blasphemy in the year 2021, according to a report released in March 2022.

A report titled ‘Human Rights Observer 2022’ prepared by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) has revealed that every second accused of blasphemy happened to be a Muslim, adding that as many as 84 persons had been booked under blasphemy charges throughout Pakistan in 2021.

According to the report, 42 people accused of blasphemy were Muslims followed by 25 Ahmadis, seven Hindus and three Christians.

The study also included three cases of lynching, including the notorious lynching of Sri Lankan national Priyanka Kumara in Sialkot, reported in 2021.

The accused persons included one transgender person and six women. Of them, the transgender and two women happened to be Muslims by faith whereas four were Christians.

Over the years, the issue of unverified and speculative accusations of blasphemy has deepened, leading to incidents of lynching and extrajudicial settlements.

The issue was further brought to light in the wake of a flurry of shocking incidents wherein suspects were lynched over mere suspicions. Last month, vigilantes in Khanewal village lynched a mentally unstable man for allegedly committing blasphemy. The tragedy came as a grim reminder of the Sialkot lynching, drawing condemnation from the government as well as opposition parties that believed the gruesome incident humiliated the entire nation.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 17^th, 2023.