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November 27, 2014

Veena Malik and the modern witch-hunt of Pakistani blasphemy laws (Padraig Reidy in The Telegraph, 27 Nov 2014)


Veena Malik and the modern witch-hunt of Pakistani blasphemy laws
Pakistan’s blasphemy laws are a menace to everyone in the country; even speaking out against them now constitutes blasphemy itself

By Padraig Reidy

27 Nov 2014

It’s hard to read about the blasphemy convictions handed down to Pakistani actress Veena Malik and her husband Asad Bashir, media owner Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman, and television presenter host Shaista Wahidi without a sense of frustration and confusion over the arbitrary application of the country’s blasphemy laws.

Malik and Bashir took part in a restaging of their wedding on a programme on Geo TV, owned by Shakil-ur-Rahman. Playing in the background was a song about the marriage of one of Mohammad’s daughters. That, apparently, was enough to trigger a prosecution.

Pakistan’s blasphemy laws are notoriously easy to invoke, and as such are often used as part of broader agendas and vendettas against individuals. Even mentioning Mohammed can become dangerous, as politician Sherry Rehman found when she invoked his memory to suggest that he would not approve of the death sentence for blasphemy.

Rahman’s friend Salmaan Taseer was killed by his own security guard for his campaign to reform the blasphemy law – suggesting that the country was now in a situation where even to speak out against the blasphemy law constitutes blasphemy in itself.

The case of Malik and her co-accused would appear to be about who they are as much as about what they did. Malik is a popular but controversial star, who posed for the cover of Indian FHM, seemingly nude, in 2011. Amid condemnation, she was forced to admit that was a “mistake”. Shakil-ur-Rahman is the owner of a powerful TV station that often finds itself at odds with the government.

None of this should matter in the courts, obviously. But the problem with blasphemy charges is that once the process begins, it is unstoppable. Look at the wording of section 295c of the Pakistan penal code: “Whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by visible representation or by any imputation, innuendo, or insinuation, directly or indirectly, defiles the sacred name of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) shall be punished with death, or imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine.”

Once an accusation has been made under those terms, how does one fight it? How does one refute that “by any imputation, innuendo, or insinuation, directly or indirectly”? It’s impossible, made more so by the fact that no one is in a position to argue against the idea of the blasphemy law itself, lest they find themselves accused of sacrilege themselves. Much like the witch-hunts of old England, blasphemy accusations are used against minorities, women, and anyone who seems like trouble. And much like those times, a blasphemy accusation can built its own self-perpetuating hysteria.

But these laws do not spring from ancient taboos. While the criminal code dates back to the Raj, it was rarely invoked. It was only during the rule of General Zia, who beefed up the law significantly (including provisions preventing Ahmadis from even calling themselves Muslims) that prosecutions took off.

It’s possible that Malik and co will never actually serve their sentence, due to the complicated status of the Kashmir anti-terror court which convicted them. But that’s scant reason to celebrate. Malik and her husband have fled Pakistan along with their newborn baby. They have been subject to death threats, and may never return to the country.

Pakistan’s blasphemy laws are a menace to everyone in the country. As Pakistan repeatedly tries to introduce “religious defamation” as an internationally recognised transgression at the United Nations (with language copied, embarrassingly, from Ireland’s new blasphemy legislation), the menace is not confined.

It is no good to simply suggest, as some will, that this is the way things are in Pakistan. It hasn’t always been, and it needn’t always be. Those who suffer under Pakistan’s blasphemy law, and those who are brave enough to fight it, deserve our support.


Trust: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/11257655/Veena-Malik-and-the-modern-witch-hunt-of-Pakistani-blasphemy-laws.html