July 13 2004

In the face of a growing international campaign for the repeal of the blasphemy laws and the Hudood Ordinances, the Pakistani Government announced last week that it would introduce a new bill to revise these laws.

The draft 'Criminal Law (Amendment) Act' will revise the Hudood Ordinances and the blasphemy laws, and criminalise so-called 'honour' killings. The news was announced on July 8 by Pakistan's Justice Minister, Raza Hayat Hiraj, who said the draft would be presented to the Cabinet for approval. It was subsequently tabled in the National Assembly, and, according to CSW's source, is now with the Council of Islamic Ideology. The bill was drafted with input from the Supreme Court, which has already ruled that 'honour killings' should be considered as murder.

The Government's move to reform these laws comes after the killings of several Christians in recent months, including Samuel Masih, accused of blasphemy, and Javed Anjum, murdered by maulvis (mullahs) at a madrassah (Islamic school). International pressure has mounted on the Pakistani authorities to take action to curb religious intolerance, and last month President Pervez Musharraf called for 'scrutiny' of the blasphemy laws and the Hudood ordinances, and an end to 'honour killings'.

The Hudood Ordinances, introduced in 1979, deal with Islamic laws relating to criminal acts. These include the requirement that a married woman who has been raped must provide four Muslim male witnesses otherwise the rape is considered adultery.

Cecil Chaudhry, a leading campaigner for human rights and religious freedom in Pakistan, and a member of the Catholic Church's Justice and Peace Commission, told CSW that the proposed draft bill does not go far enough: "The stand of the women of Pakistan, and the non-Muslim minorities, has been to call for the total repeal of the blasphemy laws and the Hudood ordinances. The total repeal of these laws was also the recommendation of the Women's Commission formed by the government itself."

In regard to the move to declare 'honour killings' as a crime, Mr Chaudhry said there was no need for new legislation. Existing laws under Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code already provided for the crime of murder, punishable with the death penalty. "Murder is murder, and honour killings are murder, so Section 302 already covers this crime," he argued.

The move to reform the law is likely to draw fierce opposition from Islamic militant groups. The Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), an alliance of six Islamic parties in the National Assembly, urged the Government not to table a bill until a consensus had been reached, although a spokesman said he opposed the custom of 'Karo-Kari' or 'honour killings'.

Mervyn Thomas, CSW's Chief Executive, welcomed the draft bill, but urged the Pakistani Government to go further. "Hundreds of people of all religions, including Muslims and Christians, have suffered unimaginable injustices and danger as a result of the blasphemy laws and the Hudood ordinances. We are pleased that the Pakistani authorities are now taking steps to address the discrimination, persecution and killings that have resulted from these unjust laws, but we do not believe that the laws can be revised or reformed. We stand with the women and the minorities of Pakistan in urging the Government to completely repeal these laws, and create a new atmosphere of religious freedom and tolerance."

NOTES TO EDITORS

Pakistan has a population of 150 million, 96 per cent of whom are Muslim. Islam is the state religion, but the Constitution provides for religious freedoms. About two percent of the population are Christians and two percent are Hindus.

For more than 20 years, the blasphemy laws under Section 295 of the Pakistan Penal Code have been widely misused and caused fear and suffering. It is not only Christians whose security is jeopardised by these laws. Other minorities, such as the Ahmadis, and indeed Muslims themselves are affected by the legislation. It only requires the testimony of one Muslim man to bring charges against another person for blasphemy, and so the law has been used as a tool in disputes that have nothing to do with religion. The ultimate penalty is death, although no one has been executed under the laws.

There are currently 75 blasphemy cases awaiting or undergoing trial. These include 59 Muslims, three Ahmadis, three Hindus and ten Christians. The Christians include Parvez Masih, Anwar Kenneth and Augustine Ashiq 'Kingri' Masih.

Since 1986, a total of 579 people have been charged under the blasphemy laws. The majority of these, at least 289, are Muslims, while 203 are Ahmadis. At least 79 Christians have been charged, including Tahir Iqbal, a Christian convert from Islam, arrested in 1992 and poisoned to death in jail. Although the death penalty has never been carried out by the authorities, blasphemy suspects face danger from extremists, even if they are acquitted. Niamat Ahmer, a teacher, poet and writer, was murdered by extremists in 1992, while Bantu Masih, aged 80, was stabbed and killed in the presence of the police in 1992, and Mukhtar Masih, aged 50, was tortured to death in police custody. In 1994, Salamat Masih, aged 12, and Rehmat Masih, aged 42, and Manzoor Masih, aged 37, were fired on in front of the Lahore High Court by extremists, after the former two had been acquitted of blasphemy. Manzoor Masih died on the spot, while Salamat and Rehmat sustained serious injuries. One of the judges in that trial, Arif Iqbal Bhatti, was later murdered.The Senior Judge of Lahore High Court, Justice Nazir Akhtar, has said in a public statement that "it is a religious obligation to kill the blasphemer on the spot without trial". That illustrates how dangerous the climate is in Pakistan under this law. The Government and police have failed to protect those accused, and the law has only led to an increase in religious intolerance and violence.