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Senate panel decides to continue discussion on blasphemy law

By our correspondents
December 04, 2016

Islamabad

The Senate Human Rights Committee Friday decided to carry forward conversation on the Blasphemy Law in the light of a 1991 Senate report making critical recommendations but which unfortunately was confined to the archives for unknown reasons and remained untraceable for a long time.

The decision to this effect was taken after PPP’s Senator Farhatullah Babar shared details of the 1991 report and suggested that it be made as the starting reference point for suggesting ways and means to prevent misuse of the blasphemy law.

He disclosed that quarter of a century ago the Criminal Law (Third Amendment) Bill 1991 seeking mandatory death penalty for blasphemy was introduced in the Senate on November 4, 1991. The bill was promptly referred to the Standing Committee on Law and Justice on that day, he said.

Babar said that the law and justice committee was then headed by Raja Zafarul Haq, the incumbent Leader of the House in the Senate, and included Yahya Bakhtiar, former attorney general, among others.

In its report, the committee had observed that there was need for a more specific definition of the offence under section 295 PPC (blasphemy) because in the words of the committee itself ‘in its present form was very generalised’.

“According to the report, the committee also asked as to what punishment was given for blasphemy during the life time of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) or during the life time of four caliphs or afterwards and in other Muslim countries,” he said.

While raising these questions, the report, however was silent on whether it approved or disapproved the proposed amendment in the law, he pointed out.

Later, talking to journalists, Farhatullah Babar said that according to the official report of the 36th session of the Senate, Committee Chairman Raja Zafarul Haq had moved that the delay in the presentation of the report be condoned and it was granted and the motion was adopted on that day. According to the record, it only annexed the bill with its report raising questions and did not endorse the Amendment Bill.

He said it was a mystery how and why the Criminal Law (Third Amendment) Bill 1991 was passed despite the fact that the relevant committee had sought some clarification and had not approved it.

Babar noted that the report of the committee remained untraceable for a long time. He added he was alerted to it by I A Rehman of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and that was how he started searching and was finally able to locate it.

He said that a critical re-examination of the 295-C was needed particularly because this provision also did not enjoy the unanimous support of the Islamic scholars.

Giving background, he said that the Federal Shariat Court (FSC) in October 1990 ruled on a petition filed by one Ismail Qureshi that the alternate punishment of life imprisonment for blasphemy was repugnant to Islam and should be deleted.

The FSC had also directed to add a clause that any act of blasphemy of other prophets should also be punishable with death and that Section 295-C be amended by April 30, 1991. However, this was also not done.

He said that even Ismail Qureshi had expressed apprehensions about its likely saying that in its present form it could create ambiguity and legal complications emphasising also that proof of intent was necessary to secure conviction.

The PPP senator observed that the Supreme Court also recently ruled that discussion on the Blasphemy Law and pointing out how to prevent its misuse was not blasphemy. This verdict together with the disclosure about the senate committee’s report provides a good starting point for a robust and informed debate.

Friday’s meeting of the Human Rights Committee, presided over by chairperson Nasreen Jalil, was attended by Sitara Ayaz, Nisar Muhammad, Dr Jamaldini, Mohsin Leghari, Mufti Abdul Sattar, Samina Abid and Farhatullah Babar.