Sindh has witnessed two recent incidents in which the religious tool of blasphemy law was (mis)used against the opponents.
In the first case, the state on Tuesday filed a blasphemy case against a professor of Shah Abdul Latif University Khairpur Sajid Soomro with charges of contempt of Islam as he reportedly took part in the funeral of a Sindhi writer Atta Mohammad Bhanbhro. Prof. Soomro was later arrested by Khairpur police from his home early on Wednesday.
Prof. Sajid Soomro is also a famous writer and a member of Sindhi Abadi Sangat.
Another incident took place in Hyderabad where Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) Fazlur Rehman group started a social media campaign against a leader of Women Action Forum (WAF) Dr. Arfana Mallah alleging that she has done blasphemy by condemning the Blasphemy law. Interestingly this law has been condemned by many, but why JUI-F found it objectionable in the case of Dr. Mallah.
The JUI-F’s local leadership asked the party workers through a Facebook post to gather at a mosque in Bhitai Nagar and from there they will proceed to a police station to lodge an FIR against the women rights activists Prof. Dr. Mallah who is teaching at the University of Sindh, Jamshoro.
Dr. Mallah had played a key role in organising the Aurat March at Sukkur in March this year despite severe opposition by fanatics and religious leaders including provincial leadership of JUI-F. Before the March, the JUI Sindh had threatened to stop the march.
Later, Women Action Forum issued a press release condemning threats to Dr. Arfana Mallah. “We demand that police thwart such nefarious attempts and that this situation is handled in a timely and lawful manner before any damage is caused,” the WAF statement added.
Interestingly both the victims are professors of universities. According to the FIR against Prof. Soomro, the police have included Section 295-A of the Pakistan Penal Code, which pertains to deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage the religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs.
Misuse of the Blasphemy law is quite common in Pakistan as this law, was made stringent by the Military dictator General Ziaul Haq and was misused against the opposition and minority activists. The law has hit vulnerable sections, especially women and minorities. In Sindh last year a couple of serious incidents happened in which people from the Hindu community were made targets.
I don’t know what is the main cause of concern for JUI-F leadership in Sindh this time against Dr. Mallah, but it is a matter of the fact that the religious zealots have always used this law as a tool to gain their nefarious designs.
According to a post by Azam Jahangiri of JUI F on Facebook, Dr. Arfana Mallah uttered derogatory words against the Blasphemy law in her Facebook post while condemning the registration of a case against Prof. Soomro. Therefore, his party under the leadership of Taj Mohammad Nahiyon is determined to lodge a blasphemy case against Dr. Mallah.
