Blasphemy: Lahore man accused in Bahawalpur

Man accused for putting up blasphemous content on a blog.

BAHAWALPUR: Civil Lines police station on Thursday registered a case under section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code (blasphemy law) against a Lahore resident for putting up blasphemous content on a blog, http:www.kawaqi.blogspot.com.

The case was registered after a retired army officer, Muhammad Riaz, complained that he had ‘accidently’ opened the website and found objectionable material on the link . The website is reportedly owned by Waqas Khwaja, a Township resident.

Muhammad Amin, a Malsi resident (Anayti is a small town in the suburbs of Bahawalpur), was arrested on Tuesday after a complaint was filed against him and Shaid Nawaz at Khairpur Tasmewali police station. The two men were charged with blasphemy and a case was registered against them by Muhammad Aslam, who owns a public call office in the town. The SHO concerned said that the FIR 277/10 stated that Nawaz was a photographer and he used to send pictures to Amin through the complainant who by chance saw the pictures on November 30 and found them ‘blasphemous’. He stated that according to the FIR one of the pictures was allegedly attributed the Holy Prophet (pbuh). He, however, said that the pictures were not produced by the complainant. He said that Nawaz was at large and police was carrying out raids for his arrest.

Napoleon Qayyum, a rights’ activist, said that the allegations did not carry much weight. He said that the complainant had not even produced the photographs in question before the police station.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 3^rd, 2010.