Zia Ul Haq, the one who pushed Pakistan towards intense radicalism, had institutionalized the inclusion of Islamists in the judicial setup of Pakistan. Draconian laws such as blasphemy law have become a tool for Islamists which they can use conveniently to kill non-Muslims in Pakistan. Recently, a Sri Lankan national who was allegedly accused of blasphemy has been tortured, beaten to death, and then set on fire by violent Islamists.
Pakistani’s ‘Blasphemy’ weapon to kill non-Muslims:
On Friday, a Sri Lankan man named Priyantha Diyawadana, who worked as general manager of a factory of the industrial engineering company Rajco Industries in Sialkot, Punjab, was reportedly killed and then set on fire by a murderous mob in Pakistan. According to reports, the man was accused of blasphemy over some posters he had allegedly removed.
In dreadful videos circulating across social media, murderous Islamists can be seen brutally beating Diyawadana and tearing his clothes. While some of the Islamists were beating him to death, others were taking selfies. Such was the inhumane crowd of Pakistan. Well, what else can be expected from Pakistani Islamists?
The incident took place over the rumours that Diyawadana had removed a poster bearing words from the Qur’an. Afterwards, a crowd began to gather at the factory gates by the next morning which charged into the factory to attack Diyawadana.
Mohammed Murtaza, Police Assistant Commissioner, asserted, “Due to the renovation of the factory building, some posters were taken off from the wall. They may have desecrated posters bearing the name of Prophet Muhammad. Maybe the manager was lynched because of that.”
Pakistan’s draconian laws against Blasphemy:
Pakistan’s draconian laws against blasphemy to promote Islamisation of Pakistan are misused against religious minorities to kill them. In most cases, the accused are sometimes lynched to death even before they are proven guilty in court.
Earlier as reported by TFI, Pakistan stooped to a new low when it charged an eight-year-old Hindu boy under the highly controversial blasphemy law. The child probably had to stare at the death penalty as the country’s law warrants such a punishment.
Read more: Pakistan has crossed all limits of human decency: It can hang an 8-year-old Hindu boy
In another case where blasphemy law was used to settle scores against the minority populace, two Christian brothers in Pakistan were sentenced to death after they were charged with the Blasphemy laws in 2018. The accused brothers had been convicted for “use of derogatory remarks in respect of the Holy Prophet”, under the archaic blasphemy provisions of Pakistan’s penal code.
However, it was the Asia Bibi case that invited significant attention towards Pakistan’s draconian law. In 2010, Asia was sentenced to death on blasphemy charges. However, after an international outcry, she was acquitted of the said crime. Since 2011, a total of around 100 blasphemy cases have been registered. Moreover, around 40 people are waiting for the death sentences to be executed or are serving imprisonment for life.
Blasphemy law depicts Hypocrisy:
To throw limelight on Pakistan’s hypocrisy over Blasphemy law, it is needed to look at the incidents that took place in the last few months. While on the one hand, an eight-year-old Hindu boy was convicted for urinating on the carpet of a local Madrasa, the local authorities, on the contrary, had gone numb when a Ganesh temple in Pakistan’s Rahim Yar Khan area was ransacked by a blood-hungry, deranged Islamist mob in broad daylight.
What made the entire incident a ‘chilling case of majority bulldozing the minority’ was the fact that it was broadcasted unashamedly on Facebook with sacred idols of Hindu Gods being smashed and desecrated, caught on camera.
Pakistan, an infamous country, known for intolerance towards minority religions in the country is always in hunt of an opportunity to persecute them and Blasphemy law is an excuse for the same. Thus, Pakistan which claims to be an Islamic Republic is, in fact, a Sharia law State.