Pakistan: Activists sound alarm over hate crimes, blasphemy claims
On October 1, 2022, a handicapped man was set ablaze in Ghotki, Pakistan. When the victim jumped into a nearby pond to extinguish fire, the attacker, apparently a student of a religious seminary, followed him, strangling him to death. The reason, according to media reports, were accusations of blasphemy. The video of the killing went viral online.
The horrific murder sent shockwaves across Pakistani society, especially minority communities in the country where most people identify as Sunni Muslims. Just a few days later, Shiite scholar Naveed Ashiq was killed in the eastern Punjab province. In a separate incident, a radical Sunni cleric in the same province called for the killing of pregnant women from the Ahmadi religious sect. The Ahmadi are not recognized as Muslim under Pakistani law.
Claims of blasphemy can be especially dangerous in the deeply religious country. Human rights groups believe most accusers use these claims to settle personal scores, property disputes and other minor issues. Records show that 1,415 people were accused of blasphemy between 1947 and 2021. According to the Center for Research and Security Studies, 81 of the accused were killed — 71 men and 10 women.
Hate crimes on rise
Disturbingly, the number of incidents which involve accusations of blasphemy and hate crimes against minorities appears to be rising.
In December last year, a Sri Lankan man was lynched in Sialkot city of Punjab while this February a man accused of desecrating the Holy Quran was beaten to death by a mob in the Punjabi town of Khenewal. Recently, a school in the city of Attock, in the same eastern province, expelled four Ahmadi children. The reason provided by the school was merely that they were Ahmadi, said Amir Mahmood, spokesman for the religious organization Jamaat-e-Ahmadi.
The Ahmadi representative told DW that social media was awash in hate literature against his community, complete with anti-Ahmadi banners and posters. This has, in some cases, led to blasphemy allegations, according to Mahmood.
No action from the state
Recently, a gathering of a Sunni extremist outfit in Islamabad openly chanted slogans against Shiite Muslims. Several politicians and even one of Pakistan’s top judges have also openly denigrated minorities in recent years.
Activists and minority communities point to the culture of impunity as one of the reasons behind the attacks on minorities and blasphemy accusations which can also target Muslims.
Even high-ranking politicians are not immune against extremist attacks. Pakistan’s current planning minister, Ahsan Iqbal, was shot and wounded in 2018 by an Islamist hardliner. Iqbal served as the country’s interior minister at the time.
Asad Butt, co-chair of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, also believes that the number of hate crimes and blasphemy claims is on the rise. He slammed the Pakistani government for turning a blind eye to the problem.
“Instead of taking action, the government is talking to the Taliban who killed Christians, Ahmadis and many Muslims and extremist groups that spread hate against minorities,” he told DW.
This attitude encourages extremists to peddle hate against minorities and encourage lynchings against those accused for blasphemy, according to Butt.
Element of fear
Activist Sadia from Okara in Punjab believes that the extremist groups wield immense influence in Pakistani society. This influence is enough to deter people from questioning the claims of those accusing others of blasphemy, she said. If a person is accused of blasphemy, people simply start gathering outside their residence without subjecting the claims to any scrutiny.
“In such matters the sense of fear is so profound that you cannot dare to ask those who accuse anyone of blasphemy,” Sadia told DW.
This element of fear encourages extremists in their lynchings and hate campaigns, and neither politicians nor ordinary people are ready to break this fear-based framework, she added.
Some activists believe that unregulated growth of religious seminaries has led to more hate crimes and claims of blasphemy. The killer of handicapped man in Ghotki is said to be a student of a religious seminary. Political activist Naghma Iqtidar points out that religious seminaries can now be found in every part of the Pakistani province of Sindh, marking a significant change compared to two decades ago.
“Hate crimes and accusations of blasphemy have also risen during the same period,” she told DW.
TLP gaining strength
Pakistan has witnessed an immense popularity of a religious group called Tehreek-i-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) during the last 14 years. The far-right group fiercely opposes any amendments to the country’s blasphemy laws. In 2017, it paralyzed the capital Islamabad by staging a massive sit-in and demanding the resignation of Zahid Hamid, who was the justice minister at the time. Hamid eventually stepped down.
Last year, TLP supporters clashed with the police, leading to several deaths. The unrest started after their leader was arrested for giving the Pakistani government an ultimatum and insisting they expel the French ambassador over a blasphemy dispute. The leader, Saad Rizvi, was eventually released in November 2021 and a short-lived ban on the party was lifted.
A follower of the group is believed to be responsible for the killing of an Ahmadi man in Chiniot in late September 2022.
Many critics claim that the outfit not only carries out vitriolic attacks not only on the country’s minorities but on anyone daring to challenge them. Punjabi activist Sadia believes the TLP is more powerful than any other religious group in Pakistan today. Naghma Iqtidar from Sindh claims their rise has created more intolerance in society, leading to more accusations of blasphemy.
Asad Butt notes that the group has tens of thousands of voters across Pakistan and has even managed to win two seats in the province of Sindh.
Government’s stance
Some critics believe many hate crimes go unreported. Anees Haroon, member of the National Commission on Human Rights, says the country has no institution recording such incidents.
But Muhammad Jalal ud din, the leader of the Jamiat Ulema Islam (the Party of Islamic Scholars) which is part of the ruling coalition, rejects the claims that hate crimes are on the rise.
He told DW that minorities in Pakistan are being given all rights under the country’s constitution. The politician insisted that the government was not lenient towards anyone preaching hatred. Jalal ud din also rejected the alleged link between religion-fueled violence and talks with the Taliban, saying that the talks were a completely separate issue.
“Anyone breaking the law would be brought to justice, including those attempting to stir hatred,” he said.
Edited by: Darko Janjevic
Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/pakistan-activists-sound-alarm-over-hate-crimes-blasphemy-claims/a-63396489?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf