Senate panel decides to meet Imran, PTI workers

The Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights has decided to meet PTI Chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan, along with other incarcerated party workers.

The decision was taken during a meeting of the committee chaired by Chairman Senator Waleed Iqbal on Tuesday.

The committee, upon demands of members, directed to take all necessary steps to facilitate a meeting with Imran Khan and other political prisoners, including Parvez Elahi.

The PTI chief has been in judicial custody in the cypher case and has been detained at Attock prison since his arrest on August 5, following a conviction in the Toshakhana case. During the meeting, Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed highlighted that he had previously held a meeting with Senator Azam Swati and stressed that Parvez Elahi should also be considered a political prisoner.

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He further said that it is important to meet all political prisoners.PTI Senator Falak Naz Chitrali expressed concern over the condition of Imran Khan in jail and raised the issue of the arrest of the party's women workers.

She revealed that 35 PTI women have been detained without any charges for several months. The committee then decided to hold a separate meeting to address the arrest of Imran Khan and the PTI's women workers. 

Senator Iqbal confirmed that the committee would schedule a meeting for this month, with the agenda focused on the arrest of the PTI chief and the party's women workers. The committee decided to meet Imran Khan and the incarcerated workers.

Chitrali advocated for visiting the imprisoned women to better understand their situation, to which Senator Iqbal responded positively. He assured Chitrali that they would visit the women in jail and also discuss the matter with the Senate chairman.

"Okay, we will go and meet them in jail. I will also discuss this matter with the Senate chairman."

Jaranwala incident

The committee also condemned the Jaranwala incident for the violent mob attack on numerous houses and churches. The incident, fueled by allegations of blasphemy, raised concerns regarding the abuse of blasphemy laws in the country.

The committee said that such incidents have been a cause of national embarrassment and deliberated on the steps taken in the aftermath.

According to a handout, the committee chair sought details of the individuals detained under blasphemy law in the next meeting.

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During the hearing, Ministry of Human Rights Secretary Allah Dino Khowaja briefed the committee on the Jaranwala incident. He revealed that two Christian youths were accused of desecrating the Holy Quran, which sparked the violent mob attack.

Furthermore, Khowaja informed the committee that dozens of homes were damaged in the rampage. To address the consequences, it was decided that 92 families affected by the incident would be compensated.

Khowaja also highlighted the lack of coordination between the federation and the provinces and proposed the formation of a national coordination committee.

The committee agreed with Khowaja's proposal, emphasising the need for better policing and coordination to prevent similar incidents in the future.

‘Abuse of blasphemy laws’

During the meeting, PTI’s Seemee Ezdi raised the issue of the country's blasphemy law, suggesting that it needed to be revisited and re-evaluated.

Citing the increasing frequency of such incidents, she questioned whether there might be loopholes or aspects of the law that were overlooked.

Ezdi further highlighted that many individuals, out of fear, refrain from openly discussing this sensitive matter. The silence surrounding blasphemy has hindered any meaningful dialogue and understanding on this topic.

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However, PML-N Senator Irfan Siddiqui disagreed and argued that without a law in place, there would be no means to curb blasphemy. He advocated for the existence of a legal framework to prevent such incidents from occurring and emphasised that the path to justice should not be obstructed.

Responding to Siddiqui's concerns, Ezdi assured him that the path would not be blocked. Instead, she assured that the blasphemy law would be thoroughly reviewed.

The debate surrounding the blasphemy law has long been a contentious issue in Pakistan, with advocates opposing it on grounds of religious freedom and human rights, while others argue in favour of its necessity to maintain social order and protect religious sentiments.