Members of the Muslim and
Christian community expressed their resentment at a protest on Thursday over
the recent killing of a Christian couple in Kot Radha Kishan, near Lahore.
“Please do not burn us in
the name of religion, we too are Pakistanis and your brothers and we can not
even think of desecrating the Holy Quran,” said the head of the Muslim
Christian Unity Forum (MCUF) Sameul Yaqub.
Christians living in
Rawalpindi and members of the civil society condemned the incident and decided
to protest in front of the press clubs of the twin cities today.
The MCUF chief further
expressed discontent and blamed the media for not highlighting the incident
as much as it should have been.
While
talking to The Express Tribune, Yaqub said some sections of
the media did not fairly report the incident, implying that the couple did
desecrate the holy book. “It is quite regrettable that in spite of the fact
that we are Pakistanis; we are treated like aliens,” he said.
“We do not trust the
investigations because in a number of examples aggressors were set free after
being investigated despite being guilty,” he remarked.
Basharat Khokhar, a social
worker, questioned why such blasphemy only occurred in Punjab. “We are living
peacefully with our Muslim brothers in Khyber-Pakhunkhwa but we are not safe in
Punjab due to the present government,” he alleged.
Talking about the police
presence at the scene of the crime, Khokhar said “They could have dispersed the
mob by resorting to aerial firing but they chose to do nothing, which means
that they are also abettors and killers.”
He said like all crimes
against minorities in the past, this one too will be left unsolved.
Sarwar Bari, another social
activist, said it is a specific mindset which is targeting minorities. He added
that the unjust use of the blasphemy laws should be stopped.
Human right activist
Basharat Maseeh said a fair trial is the right of every human being but
unfortunately, the couple was not even given a chance to prove their innocence.
“Our society is
collectively heading towards destruction,” he said. He called for a thorough
investigation in the matter.
Catholic Church Cathedral
Peshawar Priest Father John William said this is the worst example of the
misuse of the blasphemy law. After the introduction of Article 295-C, people
are blatantly misusing this law, he said.
“The law should either be
repealed or amended,” he demanded, saying that “We feel deprived and devastated
to see the lukewarm response from the government and judiciary.”
Published in The Express Tribune, November 7th,
2014.
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