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A judge of Pakistan's Supreme Court has lamented that generals and politicians have often misquoted and misused the country's founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah's declarations to emphasise equal rights for people of all faiths.
"In the past, generals had attributed a lot of sayings to Quaid-e-Azam, now lawyers should not do that. There is already a lot of division in the society in the name of religion, don't create more," Justice Faiz Isa said as the top court heard a case of a Christian man accused of blasphemy. Justice Isa informed the lawyer that Quaid-e-Azam (Jinnah) "had said that people of all faiths were free for their worship in Pakistan." He was referring to Jinnah's speech while inaugurating the country's independence in August 1947. His reference to the 'generals' was to the army chiefs who seized power four times in Pakistan's history, scrapping the country's Constitution and quoting or misquoting Jinnah to justify their action. Justice Isa is highly regarded and despite his and his family being probed by the government of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, could be in line for the Chief Justice's office on the basis of his seniority. Out of power, Khan had said that persecuting Isa was "a mistake." The court then turned to the case of the accused, Salamat Maseeh, a Christian garbage collector working for the Lahore Waste Management Company. Thus informed by Maseeh's lawyer, Justice Isa wondered why Muslims did not work as garbage collectors. "Cleanliness is half faith. The Holy Prophet's (PBUH) Sunnah includes cleanliness but we do not follow it," The Friday Times quoted him as saying. Justice Isa observed that blasphemy was "not a small crime" and its punishment was death. The British era law, strengthened manifold during the regime of military ruler General Ziaul Haq, is generally used to target Pakistan's religious minorities and ethnic groups. Investigations and court trials often get influenced by public anger. Blasphemy is an emotional issue in Pakistan. However, the majority of Muslims also fall victims. Forty-two Muslims were accused of blasphemy in 2021. Criticizing the way Maseeh's investigation and trial were conducted by the lower court, Justice Isa further observed that the incident took place in a park and no one including the guard was made a witness." There was a contradiction in the FIR. He pointed out that the FIR read that the suspect was a preacher whereas he was not. Pakistan last year witnessed the lynching and death of a Sri Lankan factory engineer, Priyantha Kumara. Blasphemy accusations came from workers whom he had sought to discipline. Kumara was supposed to have asked for the removal of some posters with Arabic writings. He was not conversant with the language. Recalling this in its editorial on August 24, Dawn newspaper took up the case of a Hindu citizen accused of blasphemy this month. With timely intervention, the police had prevented the lynching of Ashok Kumar, a Hindu sanitation worker in Hyderabad accused of desecrating the Holy Quran, from what the newspaper called "vigilante 'justice". The newspaper observed the impact on the Hindu community. "All the Hindu families living in the six-storey apartment building in Hyderabad's Saddar bazaar have left, too fearful to continue staying there after witnessing the wrath of the mob. The impact of blasphemy accusations can be particularly devastating for minority communities: it often forces them to move en masse, leaving behind settled lives and incomes." Ahmedis or Ahmediyyas, who were declared non-Muslims in 1973, continue to face the ire of the majority Sunni Muslims in rural Punjab. Sixteen more graves were desecrated in Manawala. Ahmadis are severely persecuted in Muslim-majority Pakistan where discrimination enjoys legal and constitutional sanction. An Ahmadi was earlier killed in a targeted attack on May 17. The burial of two Ahmadis was impeded separately over the year. An Ahmadi worship place was sealed in Mirpur Khas. The graves of 173 Ahmadis have been desecrated, the newspaper reported. (ANI)
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