While liberal opinion in Pakistan was busy contesting the very nature and detail of the blasphmy law, it became a Sword of Democles hanging over every head in the country. Contesting it is a bygone story. The quest now is to somehow live with it without getting caught into the quagmire of this religio- political- personal- life spoiler. Anybody could be a target. It is not restricted to minorities anymore. Rimsha Maseeh and Shahbaz Bhatti (Federal Minister for Minorities Affairs) could be representatives of minorities in Pakistan, but Salman Taseer definetely not. The powerful governor of Punjab had to pay with his life for something he consistently denied. His death also didn't bring much remorse into the Pakistani intelligentsia. "He should have been more cautious in his utterances", was the response from many a liberals. The conservative opinion is then self evident.
The recent incident of arrest of a Pakistani-American on December 10th in Islamabad on blasphemy charges is yet another addition to the pattern. And this is the most dangerous one of all. As the story goes the nephew of Dr. Iftikhar filed a complaint against his uncle saying that he has published some blasphemous material in one of his books. In his interview with the media Mr. Usman said, “The moment his (uncle's) deviant behaviour became evident, we limited our family terms with them. We tried to convince him that it is a great sin and he should let go his mission". Naturally, according to the nephew, when the Uncle didn't mend his ways there was no other option but to file a complaint against him. The police, on the other hand, arrested Dr. Iftikhar without any evidence at hand. They looked for it later. There was also another angle to the whole issue, namely money dispute between both persons, but when asked, the police chief summarily disregarded it saying, “That is another matter. Right now we are looking into the blasphemy issue".
The above story points towards a very dangerous trend. One can easily blame someone in Pakistan of blasphemy without furnishing any evidence. The defendant has to prove his innocence, instead of being otherwise. Even more dangerous are the social implications of this blame for the person accused and the family. As the reports show the family has already left the house for an unknown destination. Even if proven innocent in the end Dr. Iftkhar doesn't have any chance of a social life for himself and the family in Pakistan. Excommunication to the limit of being in harms way for the rest of his is his fate. The same, unfortunately, would be true for the immediate, or even extended, family.
Now the question is not that of whether he has committed blasphemy or not, or whether the law is right or wrong, or harsh. The question is that of the growing trend of settling personal scores with people by blaming them with something very abstract like blasphemy and getting away with it. What if the nephew is wrong? What if it is all about the money he owes to the uncle, or may be a jealousy between the have and the have not? Unlike the murderer of Salman Taseer this guy didn’t inflict any physical harm to the defendant. He just filed a complaint on the basis of his impression of the moral conduct of a person. Now the first question that comes to ones mind is whether he had the right to do so? He didn’t.
But do our law enforcing agencies ever take this point into consideration? Did anybody ask the question at the police station at the time of filing the complaint? As far as the evidence goes no such questions were posed.
There might be two main reasons for this. One, religious bigotry and intolerance has infiltrated the very fabric of Pakistani society to the limit that even the law enforcers and law makers don’t feel any remorse while stripping someone of the very existence on charges where there is sufficient room for doubt. Secondly, this automated reaction might be the result of fear of public backlash, of the feeling of insecurity regarding oneself and the family. In any of these instances Pakistan has a serious problem. If the decision makers of a society become either perpetrators of or hostage to radical elements from within it becomes difficult to live as a human polity.
Charges of blasphemy are no more a question of aggression of a majority against minorities. It has become a social malaise and is on the spread with a new dimension in every new case. Deep soul searching by the intelligentsia and proactive involvement by the decision makers in the country is immediately needed. If we fail to do this as a nation, the country will evidence more and more incidences of lives and careers being ruined on one pretext or another, using religion as the ‘Sacred Prelude’.
