One day after the Valentine’s Day, Additional Sessions Judge Meher Nasir Hussain in Multan ordered police to register a blasphemy case against Sherry Rehman under 295 C of the Pakistan Penal Code.
Punjab police initially refused to register an FIR based on mischievous bases against Sherry Rehman, but the petitioners had gone to court, which instead of dismissing the frivolous plaint has sent it back to the police for action. As of now, the police is resisting filing again, but it is under a lot of pressure from the complainants.
The local Multan lawyer, Rashid Rehman, feels that the petitioners will also go to High Court and try to inflame local and media passions.
According to Sherry, Iqbal Haider has come forward to pro-actively assist her since the court refused to quash the application on Feb 14.
She has applied for bail at Sindh High Court in the morning, and quashment of the case from the Multan bench of Lahore High Court.
Sherry Rehman in a message has thanked all her friends for your unstinting and unequivocal support through these difficult times.
”This episode brought many new people into my life while exposing others whom I should have been able to depend on.”
She said “Have no plan to give up the struggle; in fact the way things have unfolded, we will need more of a concerted effort and unity. We are not armed, and nor are we dangerous, so this will always be an asymmetrical fight unless the political parties wake up to the reality that they will lose this nation if they don’t act. Impunity for murderers and coddling serial inciters to hate will only expedite our path to oblivion.”
”The silver lining lies in the fact that in this episode, many citizens have woken up to the reality that democracy will only work if we do our bit; even then, it often fails us. But we will have to act.
”I salute all of you on this journey. You took risks that others shied away from.”
Fyi: the PM has announced without speaking to me that I have agreed to “withdraw” the bill. There are now two cases against me re blasphemy in Multan and Lahore. Alone and with wolves now.
Here is my statement below. Have contradicted:
Islamabad, 2nd February 2011:
In response to the Prime Minister’s statement that she has agreed to withdraw the bill, Sherry Rehman, MNA said that she was not consulted about this matter, and had not agreed to “withdraw” any bill, but since the PM had announced there cannot even be discussion on procedural amendments, and the commmittee announced by the party to amend laws has been disbanded, then as a PPP MNA she has no option but to abide by the party decision in parliament.
“There was never any question of withdrawing the bill as the Speaker had never admitted it on the agenda. Had it appeared on the agenda perhaps some of our colleagues would have understood that it was not suggesting repeal of the law, but protecting our great Prophet’s (pbuh) name against injustices done via procedures introduced by Ziaul Haq. No Pakistani citizen would expect not to protect the Prophet’s (pbuh) name.
The changes I had submitted were simple : that innocent people be given a chance to prove their innocence like in all laws, and that cases be tried at the Higher courts,
that penalties be given according to the Quran, and that no one who makes false charges in the name of a Prophet (pbuh) who swore always to defend the innocent and the vulnerable go unpunished.”
In solidarity,
Sherry Rehman
sherryrehman@mobilink.blackberry.com
Filed under: Human Rights, Islam, Pakistan Under President Zardari Tagged: | Blasphemy Law, Sherry Rehman & Blasphemy Law
Comment by Nasim Zehra of Dunya
nasimzehra@gmail.com
And let us be VERY CLEAR that it is THIS LAW, that is making this possible. All the issues that you raise are valid and the course of action suggested should be explored. The dangers to Sherry Rehman’s person do not seem to diminish.
She is bravely fighting on- not taking the safe route of either leaving the country or announcing that she has taken back her Bill or perhaps at least having stayed quiet when the PM announced withdrawal of Sherry Rehman’s untabled Bill.
Sherry has stood her ground, at continuous risk to her person and within the extremely squeezed political space available to her.
Human rights groups, lawyers and many of us in our various othee capacities should take the lead, in consultation with Sherry Rehman.
Meanwhile this creeping yet potentially deadly charge against Sherry, which is unfounded and yet which exposes her to the grave dangers that you have highlighted, also raise two broader questions.
One of the fundamental issue with the law itself. How on flimsy notions it can initiate a deadly legal trail against a Pakistani citizen. This is precisely the fact which motivated leading Pakistani human rights activists, religious scholars and some parliamentarians to demand that this man-made law be reviewed. And hence today we all need to publicly restate the problems with the law.
Two, the Sherry case also does question the wisdom of remaining somewhat quiet on this issue because the timing may not be appropriate. Clearly, while we may advocate ‘tactical quiet’ on the issue, those individuals and cliques, who have used sections of this law as a potent score-settling tool against their social, ideological or political adversaries, are not on the retreat.
In Sherry Rehman’s case the complainant reportedly is a member of the JUP. The local power scene which manages to spread fear in local courts when a blasphemy case is being heard, indeed led to yesterday’s extremely flimsy and questionable judgment by the sessions court judge.
It seems having established and re-established the problems with this law, remaining silent on this issue may not be wise. In Sherry’s case we must look into the legal recourse that you have identified including raising the issue of the judge’s competence, yet on the political front we must support the PM’s call to review the law and the PML-Q chief’s decision to introduce another law to remove the problems in the existing law, and INSIST that they must followup what they have said.
And finally what do we say shame on the government, shame on the parliament, shame on us…at varying degrees we all culpable for the depths of hypocrisy and insensitivity to which have collectively sunk. People like Sherry Rehman have more than paid their dues, and still continue to despite all the threats she faces.
What can we do- why can we not raise our voice against this law? I want to call a rally against this – will any one support this call?
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Tehrik-e-Niswan
GF-3, Block 78, Sea View Apartments,
DHA 5, Karachi – Pakistan.
Tel: (+)92 21 35851790 & 35851852
Visit our Website http://www.tehrik-e-niswan.org.pk
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