Lawyers vow daily protests

Hurmat-i-Rasool Committee of High Court bar says all city’s lawyers back blasphemy laws.

LAHORE: The Hurmat-i-Rasool (pbuh) Committee of the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHC) has begun a campaign of daily protests to dissuade the government from trying to amend the blasphemy laws.

A handful of LHCBA members marched in protest from the bar association building to GPO Chowk on The Mall on Monday. They stayed there for some time chanting slogans condemning the federal government and the Punjab governor, who they said were trying to protect blasphemers and to amend the blasphemy laws. Advocate Rai Nawaz Kharal, the head of the Hurmat-i-Rasool (pbuh) committee, led the protest. In his speech, he said that they would hold a protest every day at the GPO Chowk at 10:30am. “We will resist any and all moves to amend the blasphemy laws, particularly Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code,” he said.

Advocate Jamil Riaz Faizi, the secretary of the committee, said that all lawyers in Lahore were united in support of the blasphemy laws. He said those who blaspheme against the Holy Prophet (pbuh) deserve to be executed. A few days ago, the general house of the LHCBA unanimously carried a resolution condemning the government’s supposed moves to amend Section 295-C of the PPC. The resolution was moved by Advocate Asad Abbas Dhuthar and the general house meeting was chaired by LHCBA President Mian Abdul Qudoos.

The resolution said that Pakistan’s minorities enjoyed equal rights and complete religious freedom. It said that for many years, “religious countries through some NGOs have initiated a move against the section [295-C]”.

Rights activists

Human rights activists say the blasphemy laws are flawed and often exploited to settle personal scores.

Dr Mehdi Hasan, the chairman of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), said the blasphemy laws didn’t make sense in this country since 94 per cent of the population was Muslim and “would not dare to commit blasphemy”. He refused to comment on the LHCBA resolution and protest, saying everyone had a right to public protest.

Asma Jahangir, the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association and former president of the HRCP, echoed this point. “The beauty of a democratic society is that everyone has the right to protest or speak against or in favour of any policy,” she said. “No one should threaten anyone in this regard.”  Advocate Anis AA Saadi, the chairman of Free Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement, strongly condemned the protest and the resolution. “I condemn the resolution because the bar is not represented by the one lawyer who is the most motivated. Rather the bar is for all kinds of lawyers. It should be neutral. It should not be a party.”

Published in the Express Tribune, December 14^th, 2010.