On June 17, 2023, the Pakistan federal government signed a twelve-point agreement with the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Party (TLP) Pakistan and agreed to book those accused of committing blasphemy and charged with Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code under the Anti-Terrorism Act (1997)
The same day, Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan ended its twenty-five-day long march protest at Sarai Alamgir, situated some two hundred kilometres away from Lahore after signing a pact with the PML-N (Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz) led federal government.
Federal Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan said that the government has accepted all legitimate demands of the TLP, especially on blasphemy laws. “Besides, the speedy trial of the blasphemy accused will be ensured. For the first time, a Counter Blasphemy Wing(CBW) has been set up under the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).” He also added that the government would block blasphemous social media content.
The radical Islamic group gained political capital as the federal government agreed to issue a letter that the TLP was not a terrorist organisation, the Dawn reported. Additionally, the government conceded to lift the ban on the TLP broadcasts and social media coverage while agreeing to withdraw all political cases filed against the TLP workers and leaders.
The TLP leaders whose names have been taken off the Fourth Schedule of the Anti-terrorist Act 1997 will have the freedom of movement, and the federal government will issue directives to provincial governments for it.
As per Amnesty International, Pakistan’s blasphemy laws are often used against religious minorities and others who have been the target of false accusations. The addition of the terrorism charges will make the blasphemy suspects more vulnerable.
The TLP belongs to the Sunni Islamist ‘Barlevi’ school of thought, calls itself the defender of Prophet Muhammad’s honour, and demands severe punishment for those who do not believe in sanctity and finality. Its other area of focus is protecting Pakistan’s draconian blasphemy laws and punishing blasphemers. It was founded in 2015 by Khadim Hussain Rizvi.
It demands that Sharia be established as the Islamic fundamental law in Pakistan through a gradual and legal process. Pakistan has the world’s most strict blasphemy laws after Iran. About 1500 Pakistanis have been charged with Blasphemy over the past three decades.
The blasphemy laws in Pakistan are much stricter in the world and harsher, and more specific than the comparable laws in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Malaysia, Indonesia, Afghanistan, and other countries
In Pakistan, an insult to Prophet Muhammad or the state religion, Islam, is highly punishable and can carry a potential death sentence. Although, no executions for blasphemy have been carried out in Pakistan since the 1990s. But there are instances where angry mobs have beaten people to death and lynched them brutally.
Pakistan has inherited its blasphemy laws from the former British Colonial rulers who, in 1860, introduced a set of laws related to religion to quell the Hindu-Muslim violence in the subcontinent. These laws were strengthened in 1927 with the addition of a vague clause “deliberate and malicious actions intended to outrage feelings of any class by insulting its religion and religious believers.”
Between 1980-1986, the military government of General Zia-ul-Haq further strengthened these laws and added five clauses, all specific to Islam and criminalising offences such as defiling the Holy Quran, insulting Prophet Mohammed, or using derogatory language against certain religious figures.
During Haq’s rule from 1977-1988, the number of blasphemy cases skyrocketed, and this trend continued through the 90s, and the death penalty was issued to all those accused or booked under blasphemy. These laws were intensified due to pressure from the religious right wing of Pakistan
In the last decade, the offences committed by those accused of blasphemy have been seen as “absurd.” These included throwing a business card into the rubbish The card belonged to a man named Mohammed, a rural water dispute, spelling errors, naming of a child, design of a place of worship, burning of a talisman or sharing a picture of it on Facebook.
Blasphemy is a very sensitive issue in Pakistan. A Chinese man named Tian was killed for blasphemy at the China Gezhouba Group Company constructing Dasu Hydropower Project in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. This shows the fact that China, despite being the closest ally of Pakistan, was not spared.
