A national disgrace

Horrible events such as killing of Christian couple only add to the growing perception of Pakistan as a pariah state

Blasphemy, real or maliciously imagined, is never far from the headlines. A man who had been arrested for street brawling was killed with an axe by a policeman. It was initially reported that the man was blaspheming in front of the policeman, but this has now been proved to be false and the policeman who swung the axe is himself now in custody and booked for premeditated murder. The man who had been arrested originally has a history of mental illness and had been an in-patient at the Lahore Psychiatric Hospital. Religious fixations and delusions are a relatively common symptom of some forms of mental illness worldwide. An elderly British-Pakistani convicted of blasphemy was recently injured by a prison guard whilst in custody in Adiala Jail. He, too, has a long history of mental illness. There are other reported incidents of mentally-ill people being attacked or killed because of their alleged blaspheming. In the over-heated culture of Pakistan, mental illness is imperfectly understood by most, and can prove fatal.

Mental illness in the form of a collective abandonment of all moral values played a part in the killing of the Christian couple at Kot Radha Kishan last week. As details of the incident emerge, it appears that they were killed in the most horrific manner and did not die quickly. Their murder was allegedly incited by calls from local mosques saying they were blasphemers. Not a shred of evidence has emerged to support the allegation.

In an unprecedented move, the prime minister has appointed the Ports and Shipping Minister, Kamran Michael, as the focal person for the case investigation, making the state a plaintiff. We welcome this move. There is a history of blasphemy laws being misused and abused in Pakistan, and because of this, we have been disgraced both nationally and internationally. Such horrible, tragic events only add to the growing perception of Pakistan as a pariah state. Public and governmental attitudes and perceptions are not going to change overnight — which is no excuse for not trying.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 10^th, 2014.

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