MIL OSI Translation. Region: Italy –
Source: The Holy See in Italian
Lahore (Agenzia Fides) – What role do the “civil militias” or “vigilante squads” of the “Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan” (TLP) organization have or how is the work justified, who go around the streets of Pakistani cities to search for and punish people accused of some religious crimes, such as blasphemy or contempt of Islam? It is a question that analysts and political and civil society representatives are asking themselves in the face of a phenomenon that is disturbing Pakistani society. Members of NGOs, social organizations, religious communities of various faiths, are asking the government for clarification in the face of the “extrajudicial” action of groups that are instilling fear among the people, threatening the safety of citizens and their right to live freely. Three cases, among the latest registered, have raised concern and debate in the Pakistani mass media. They are cases related to the accusations of “blasphemy on social media”, an area in which members of the TLP seem to pay maximum attention. One concerns a doctor, Shah Nawaz Kumbhar, originally from the province of Sindh, accused of sharing blasphemous content on the social network “Facebook”. The second refers to 50-year-old Abdul Ali, owner of a hotel in Quetta, Baluchistan, also arrested for posting denigrating comments on social media towards the Prophet Muhammad, and killed while in police custody. The third case concerns Christian nurse Shagufta Kiran, 40, mother of four children, punished with the death sentence for blasphemy on WhatsApp (see Fides 20/9/2024). In these and other cases, the active involvement of TLP members was noted, with public or intimidating acts. The Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) is an Islamic organization that in 2021 was declared “outlawed” by the government. Subsequently, in the fall of the same year, the TLP reached an agreement with the federal government in which it committed to uphold the Constitution and not to promote violent protests. In November 2023, the government of Pakistan officially recognized it as a “political party registered with the Election Commission of Pakistan.” The government entered into a pact with the TLP “in view of the larger national interest and long-term perspective to ensure no recurrence of violence in the future.” The agreement stipulated that Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 (prosecution for acts of terrorism) is applicable to persons charged with blasphemy under Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code (insulting the Prophet Muhammad). In addition, the parties agreed to establish a special section called the “Counter Blasphemy Wing” within the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), the investigative agency of the federal police. The section was established with the aim of strengthening the capacity to monitor “desecration of religions” but, as the blasphemy law is configured in Pakistan – it actually applies specifically to Islam, in particular to content shared on the web. The pact also guarantees a fair and speedy trial for defendants facing blasphemy charges, which “should protect against extrajudicial actions and lynchings that still occur by militants,” notes Farzana Imran, of the Christian organization “LEAD Pakistan” (Legal Evangelical Association Development), calling on the authorities to guarantee the rule of law and not to allow a para-state militia of “moral or religious police” to interfere with the work of the police or ordinary justice. Muhammad Amir Rana, a Muslim scholar, co-founder of the “Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies” and columnist for the Pakistani daily “Dawn”, recalls that last July the TLP incited violence against the Supreme Court of Pakistan, after the acquittal of a member of the Ahmadiyya community (considered “heretical” by Islam). And he asks: “Why does the State compromise and tolerate a group responsible for mass violence, vandalism, killing of innocent citizens, damage to property, which stains the international image of the country, promoting extremism?” (PA) (Agenzia Fides 27/9/2024) Share:
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is a translation. Apologies should the grammar and/or sentence structure not be perfect.