Home Latest News Protesting Lawyers Face Blasphemy Charges

Protesting Lawyers Face Blasphemy Charges

by AFP
Munir uz Zaman—AFP

Munir uz Zaman—AFP

Case registered after lawyers shouted slogans against local police chief who shares a name with Islam’s second caliph.

A group of lawyers are facing blasphemy charges after shouting slogans against a police chief named after a revered follower of Islam’s Prophet, officials said Tuesday.

Lawyers in Jhang rose up against local police chief Umar Daraz after one of their colleagues was allegedly manhandled by officers following a road accident last week. They protested outside government offices on Monday, shouting slogans about the police chief that led to the blasphemy accusations.

“A blasphemy case has been registered against eight lawyers and about 60 others after a citizen complained that they were shouting slogans derogatory to a caliph of Islam and a companion of Islam’s Prophet,” said senior police official Ghulam Mustafa.

The historical Umar Ibn al-Khattab, a close companion of Islam’s Prophet, was the second caliph and is revered by Sunni Muslims.

Mushtaq Chaudhry, a local lawyer, said his colleagues were not shouting slogans against the caliph Umar, but his police namesake. “Our Bar Association has also passed a resolution that slogans were not raised against any sacred personality of Islam,” Chaudhry said.

Blasphemy is a hugely sensitive subject in Pakistan, where the majority of the 180 million population are devoutly Muslim. Even unproven allegations can provoke a violent public response.

Mohammad Afzal Sayal, the President of Jhang Bar Association, said the protest was against the local police station chief but “certain elements tried to exploit it.” Sayal said the blasphemy case was brought after pressure from Maulana Ahmad Ludhianvi, the head of the banned sectarian group Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ). The charges brought against the lawyers carry a sentence of three years in prison, Sayal added.

The hardline ASWJ is widely seen as a front for Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, a group formed in the 1980s and responsible for murdering hundreds of Shia Muslims, whom it considers heretics. The interior ministry banned ASWJ as a terrorist group in 2012, but it still operates freely and its banners are frequently seen at rallies.

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1 comment

SLDUA May 13, 2014 - 10:03 pm

Then, Pakistanis stop naming their children after the names of holy personalities.

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