Foot in mouth

Could the minister be suggesting that in blasphemy everyone was free to act as prosecutor, judge and executor?

The political ship of the PML-N is rolling with loose cannon. As if the law minister hasn’t kept his party in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Chaudhry Abdul Ghafoor Meo of Raiwind, the planning and development minister, made a statement on the floor of the House on Friday, to embarrass his party and leaders.

During the debate on the law and order situation in the province Maulana Ilyas Chinioti while commenting on the case of Aasia Bibi – a Christian woman accused of blasphemy – remarked that in Christianity too blasphemy had been punished by death.

He said insulting the Pope amounted to blasphemy. A minority MPA from Faisalabad, Joel Amir Sihotra, stood up and said that this was not true. He also said that rather than passing a judgment on Aasia Bibi, people should wait for the court’s verdict.

Chaudhry Ghafoor then said, “A true Aashiq-i-Rasool (passionate follower of the Prophet peace be upon him) does not wait for a court’s verdict and does what he has to do. No one should say what should not be said. There are millions of Ghazi Ilmuddin Shaheeds here.”

Najmi Saleem, another minority member, took strong exception to the remarks. She called Chaudhry Ghafoor’s remarks – who had played small roles in Punjabi movies in his youth – inflammatory. She also said court decisions had to be respected, by everybody.

Chaudhry Ghafoor belongs to a party that is always reminding the public about the role it played for the ‘independence of the judiciary’. Chief Nawaz Sharif looks towards the courts whenever he has to ‘seek justice’. What is his take on the subject? The minister is influencing people’s opinions, if not instigating them, on an issue as sensitive as blasphemy. His remarks seemed to imply that whoever doesn’t follow Ilmuddin’s example is not a ‘true’ Aashiq-i-Rasool.

The minister, perhaps, did not realise the repercussions of such a statement. It could be mistaken as an official word and interpreted as a green signal to extremists. Ghafoor completely forgot to mention the due process of law.

Could the minister be suggesting that when it came to blasphemy everyone was free to act as prosecutor, judge and executor?

To be fair irresponsible statements are not limited to Rana Sanaullah or Chaudhry Ghafoor. The chief minister has had his share of these. Speaking at Jamia Naeemia, following  spate of terror attacks, he had famously said that the Taliban should spare Lahore since the PML-N government was not their enemy.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 7^th, 2012.