PAKISTAN
Muslims aren’t this way elsewhere
IF even the Chinese are not safe here in Pakistan, who is?
Because of CPEC and Pakistan’s national interest, the Chinese are the most privileged and protected of all foreigners. Multiple layers of police and specially created army units keep them from harm’s way. Also, they are advised to keep a low profile and minimise contacts with locals, whether in Islamabad or Karachi or anywhere in Balochistan.
But, as this week’s events showed, even these precautions could not protect the Chinese from maddened, religiously charged mobs.
Work at the Dasu hydropower project stopped after a supervisor objected to long prayer breaks taken by workers. For the locals, this was blasphemy. Whisked away by helicopter to a lockup in Abbottabad, this man was luckier than Priyantha Kumara, the Sri Lankan manager of a Sialkot factory. Also accused of blasphemy, he was tortured to death and his corpse burnt by his workers.
Afghanistan excluded, such mediaeval age horrors are unknown in other Muslim-majority countries. Nor is blasphemy busting a national preoccupation elsewhere. Apart from dedicated mountaineers, who in his right mind would want to vacation in a country where the population is ready to burst into flames at the slightest provocation?
Elsewhere, tourists of all nationalities and religions are eagerly solicited and welcomed. The souks of Morocco and Egypt bustle with Americans, Europeans, Russians and Israelis, while Indonesia and Malaysia are popular destinations for Australians. Although UAE is formally under Sharia law, its relaxed social mores encourage people from everywhere to enjoy Dubai’s wonders.
Raging lynch mobs are common in Pakistan but unusual in other Muslim countries.
Pakistan is different. Scarcely any foreigner — white, Chinese or African — is visible on the streets or in the bazaars. Enrolment of foreign students in our universities is near zero. Major airports in Pakistan, constructed at enormous cost, are economically unsustainable for want of traffic. They have barely a handful of international flights daily with most passengers being Pakistani workers or expats.
Adding to the general perception of Pakistan as a dangerous place, earlier this week, Sweden announced indefinite closure of its embassy. Not far from it is Denmark’s embassy, car-bombed in 2008. Two other European embassies are said to have also quietly shut down or restricted their operations. Even in normal times, diplomats in Islamabad stay largely within the Red Zone, making only an occasional foray for vacations up north.
We are exceptional in other ways too. Lest memories fade, let’s recall that not only did Osama bin Laden find shelter in Pakistan, he was also hugely popular. According to the 2006 Pew Global Survey, the percentage of Pakistanis who saw bin Laden as a world leader grew from 45 per cent in 2003 to 51pc in 2005. In contrast, an identical questionnaire in Morocco, Turkey, and Lebanon showed his popularity dropping by 20 points.
What makes Pakistan so unique and different from other Muslim countries? To this end, I will make three observations.
First, those who run Pakistan have long assumed that religion alone can stick together Pakistan’s various regions. Maximum amounts of this epoxy must therefore be injected everywhere possible, particularly in education. Although the breakup of 1971 proved plentifully that the glue wasn’t strong enough, they chose to draw exactly the opposite conclusion. To quote Gen Ziaul Haq (1981), “Take the Judaism out of Israel and it will fall like a house of cards. Take religion out of Pakistan and make it a secular state, it would collapse.”
Elsewhere, one does not see such nervousness. Turkey? Egypt? Iran? Indonesia? Morocco? Being historically formed nation states, they are comfortable with Islam and do not have existential worries. Their national narratives are free from apocalyptic scenarios of disintegration and destruction.
Second, starting in the 1980s, Pakistan’s generals and clerics became symbiotically linked via the Kashmir jihad. Their so-called military-mullah alliance (MMA) created madressahs that became jihad factories. These eventually spun out of control. The 2007 Lal Masjid insurrection turned Islamabad into a war zone, leaving hundreds dead. It showed how impotent the state had become when confronted by the forces it had nurtured.
That impotence is glaringly evident today as well. Even in heavily policed Islamabad, it is estimated that two out of three mosques and madressahs are built on encroached land. Civic authorities stand helpless before this anarchy, unable to demolish hastily constructed structures. Government attempts to have the same prayer time for all mosques in Islamabad also foundered. Madressah reform is dead in the water. Instead, now that the Single National Curriculum is being implemented, regular schools have been turned into madressahs.
Compare this helplessness with Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iran, or elsewhere. These states tightly regulate where mosques can be built. Even the design and architecture — pleasing aesthetics being mandatory — is specified. More importantly, they spell out what can be said or not said during Friday sermons. This limits hate speech. Hence, there are no lynch mobs and no Mashal Khans or Priyantha Kumaras.
Third, the purist fantasy of a theological state (specifically those of Ziaul Haq’s Nizam-i-Mustafa or Imran Khan’s Riyasat-i-Madina) is very much alive in Pakistan. Why demagogues can profitably use such slogans is easy to see. In a country that is deeply unequal, corrupt and plagued by huge class asymmetry, people yearn for an unblemished past when everything was perfect.
But note! The leaders of autocratic and authoritarian countries like Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Morocco, or Turkey are not peddling hype of some imagined past. Instead, Prince Mohammed bin Salman has vowed to transform the hardline kingdom of Saudi Arabia into an open society that empowers citizens and lures investors. While Recep Erdogan may privately ache for restoration of the caliphate abolished by Ataturk in 1924, only 8pc of his supporters want this.
For stability and prosperity, Pakistan will have to shed its illusions and become a normal country. This means that its diverse peoples must be held together consensually through shared needs and interdependence, not through some ideological diktat. The hyper religiosity promoted through state institutions and the toxic education in our schools is not getting us admiration anywhere. Instead, it is producing a wild, uncontrollable population. Even our friends now fear us.
The writer is an Islamabad-based physicist and writer.
Published in Dawn, April 22nd, 2023
ATC grants bail to Chinese national arrested on blasphemy charges
Published April 28, 2023
MANSEHRA: A Chinese national arrested on charges of committing blasphemy was set free and shifted to an undisclosed location on Thursday after he was granted bail by an anti-terrorism court in Abbottabad.
The judge granted the suspect’s bail plea after he furnished a bond of Rs 200,000 as surety.
The petitioner was arrested in Upper Kohistan district on April 16 after a mob blocked the Karakoram Highway accusing him of committing blasphemy while exchanging arguments with labourers over long prayer breaks at the project site.
The FIR of the incident was registered at Kamila police station, Upper Kohistan, under sections 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 6/7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act.
Two lawyers represented the petitioner in the court. The Chinese national was not brought to the court for security reasons. A deputy public prosecutor was also present in the courtroom,
Record shows no offence committed by suspect, court rules
The lawyers contended that their client was innocent, terming the blasphemy charge against him false.
The Joint Investigation Team, which was set up to probe the matter, placed records of statements made by the accusers and the Chinese national before the court.
Naseeruddin, the SHO of Kamila police station and main complainant in the case, appeared in court with records.
The judge ruled in his order that three labourers — Gulistan, Shafi, Qadir — and their interpreter Yasir, had lodged the FIR on April 17, two days after the alleged incident on April 15.
He observed that the three were neither able to produce evidence in support of their accusations in the court, nor could they prove charges in their statements before the JIT.
The judge, said in his order that Yasir, the interpreter, was 35-40 feet away from the Chinese national, simply assuming that the former had uttered sacrilegious remarks.
“Section 295-C of PPC says whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by visible representation or by any imputation or innuendo or insinuation, directly or indirectly defiles the sacred name of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) shall be punished with death or imprisonment for life and shall also be liable to be fined in light of the available record,” the judge quoted from the section pertaining to blasphemy.
He further ruled that the case did not come within the ambit of “reasonable ground” as the blasphemy charge was the “result of a misunderstanding” and that the police station concerned in Kohistan had registered a “false case” against the Chinese national.
The court ruled that according to record, no such offence was committed by the accused and hence he was granted bail.
Maulana Waliullah Tohidi, a member of Ulema Jirga constituted by clerics after the alleged incident, said the release of the Chinese national was a judicial matter and “we accept it wholeheartedly”.
He said, however, that Yasir the interpreter should be put on trial for “instigating the people of Kohistan to take to the streets”. “We (Kohistanis) are patriotic Pakistani and will never allow anybody within the country, or outside, to sabotage the Dasu project at any cost,” the Maulana added.
Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2023
MANSEHRA: A Chinese national arrested on charges of committing blasphemy was set free and shifted to an undisclosed location on Thursday after he was granted bail by an anti-terrorism court in Abbottabad.
The judge granted the suspect’s bail plea after he furnished a bond of Rs 200,000 as surety.
The petitioner was arrested in Upper Kohistan district on April 16 after a mob blocked the Karakoram Highway accusing him of committing blasphemy while exchanging arguments with labourers over long prayer breaks at the project site.
The FIR of the incident was registered at Kamila police station, Upper Kohistan, under sections 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 6/7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act.
Two lawyers represented the petitioner in the court. The Chinese national was not brought to the court for security reasons. A deputy public prosecutor was also present in the courtroom,
Record shows no offence committed by suspect, court rules
The lawyers contended that their client was innocent, terming the blasphemy charge against him false.
The Joint Investigation Team, which was set up to probe the matter, placed records of statements made by the accusers and the Chinese national before the court.
Naseeruddin, the SHO of Kamila police station and main complainant in the case, appeared in court with records.
The judge ruled in his order that three labourers — Gulistan, Shafi, Qadir — and their interpreter Yasir, had lodged the FIR on April 17, two days after the alleged incident on April 15.
He observed that the three were neither able to produce evidence in support of their accusations in the court, nor could they prove charges in their statements before the JIT.
The judge, said in his order that Yasir, the interpreter, was 35-40 feet away from the Chinese national, simply assuming that the former had uttered sacrilegious remarks.
“Section 295-C of PPC says whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by visible representation or by any imputation or innuendo or insinuation, directly or indirectly defiles the sacred name of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) shall be punished with death or imprisonment for life and shall also be liable to be fined in light of the available record,” the judge quoted from the section pertaining to blasphemy.
He further ruled that the case did not come within the ambit of “reasonable ground” as the blasphemy charge was the “result of a misunderstanding” and that the police station concerned in Kohistan had registered a “false case” against the Chinese national.
The court ruled that according to record, no such offence was committed by the accused and hence he was granted bail.
Maulana Waliullah Tohidi, a member of Ulema Jirga constituted by clerics after the alleged incident, said the release of the Chinese national was a judicial matter and “we accept it wholeheartedly”.
He said, however, that Yasir the interpreter should be put on trial for “instigating the people of Kohistan to take to the streets”. “We (Kohistanis) are patriotic Pakistani and will never allow anybody within the country, or outside, to sabotage the Dasu project at any cost,” the Maulana added.
Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2023
Pakistan releases Chinese national charged with blasphemy
By RIAZ KHAN
yesterday
This is a locator map for Pakistan with its capital, Islamabad, and the Kashmir region. (AP Photo)
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A Chinese national arrested in Pakistan on charges of blasphemy has been released from a high-security prison after a court granted him bail, a defense lawyer and local police said Friday.
Under Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy laws, which have been widely criticized by rights groups, anyone convicted of the offense can be sentenced to death. Often, just a mere accusation is enough to provoke mobs to riot and even attempt to lynch those suspected of blasphemy.
The suspect, identified only by one name, Tian, was part of a group of Chinese working on the Dasu Dam, the biggest hydropower project in Pakistan. He was accused of blasphemy earlier this month after he criticized two drivers working on the project for taking too much time to pray during work hours.
Hundreds of residents and laborers in the town of Komela then blocked a key highway and demanded his arrest. They alleged that Tian insulted Islam, a charge he denied.
His lawyer, Atif Khan Jadoon, said Tian was granted bail by a judge in the northwestern city of Abbottabad on Thursday. He was released after depositing a bond of 200,000 rupees ($700), Jadoon said.
It was not immediately clear if Tian would have to remain in Pakistan to face trial or if he would be allowed to go back to China. The Chinese Embassy had earlier said it was looking into his case.
During his detention, Tian was briefly hospitalized after feeling unwell, authorities have said but provided no other details. He pleaded not guilty during an earlier appearance in court and insisted he did not insult Islam or the Prophet Muhammad, according to his lawyer.
The arrest of Muslims and non-Muslims on charges of blasphemy are common in Pakistan, but foreigners are rarely detained. Police at one point said they arrested Tian to save him from an attack by angry crowds.
In 2021, a mob lynched a Sri Lankan man at a sports equipment factory in the eastern Punjab province. The crowd later burned his body in public over allegations that he had desecrated posters bearing the name of the Prophet Muhammad.
In related developments, Pakistani police said Friday that a lawyer from the minority Ahmadi community was arrested for blasphemy in the southern port city of Karachi.
Pakistan declared Ahmadis non-Muslims in 1974. They have since frequently been targeted by Muslim extremists, drawing international condemnation.
The detained lawyer, Ali Ahmad Tariq, was arrested on Thursday, allegedly because he had added a Muslim honorific to his name in official documents, prompting a Muslim resident to complain to the police.
The development drew condemnation from human rights groups and Ahmadi community activists. A spokesman for the community, Amir Mehmood, denounced the arrest.
This is a locator map for Pakistan with its capital, Islamabad, and the Kashmir region. (AP Photo)
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A Chinese national arrested in Pakistan on charges of blasphemy has been released from a high-security prison after a court granted him bail, a defense lawyer and local police said Friday.
Under Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy laws, which have been widely criticized by rights groups, anyone convicted of the offense can be sentenced to death. Often, just a mere accusation is enough to provoke mobs to riot and even attempt to lynch those suspected of blasphemy.
The suspect, identified only by one name, Tian, was part of a group of Chinese working on the Dasu Dam, the biggest hydropower project in Pakistan. He was accused of blasphemy earlier this month after he criticized two drivers working on the project for taking too much time to pray during work hours.
Hundreds of residents and laborers in the town of Komela then blocked a key highway and demanded his arrest. They alleged that Tian insulted Islam, a charge he denied.
His lawyer, Atif Khan Jadoon, said Tian was granted bail by a judge in the northwestern city of Abbottabad on Thursday. He was released after depositing a bond of 200,000 rupees ($700), Jadoon said.
It was not immediately clear if Tian would have to remain in Pakistan to face trial or if he would be allowed to go back to China. The Chinese Embassy had earlier said it was looking into his case.
During his detention, Tian was briefly hospitalized after feeling unwell, authorities have said but provided no other details. He pleaded not guilty during an earlier appearance in court and insisted he did not insult Islam or the Prophet Muhammad, according to his lawyer.
The arrest of Muslims and non-Muslims on charges of blasphemy are common in Pakistan, but foreigners are rarely detained. Police at one point said they arrested Tian to save him from an attack by angry crowds.
In 2021, a mob lynched a Sri Lankan man at a sports equipment factory in the eastern Punjab province. The crowd later burned his body in public over allegations that he had desecrated posters bearing the name of the Prophet Muhammad.
In related developments, Pakistani police said Friday that a lawyer from the minority Ahmadi community was arrested for blasphemy in the southern port city of Karachi.
Pakistan declared Ahmadis non-Muslims in 1974. They have since frequently been targeted by Muslim extremists, drawing international condemnation.
The detained lawyer, Ali Ahmad Tariq, was arrested on Thursday, allegedly because he had added a Muslim honorific to his name in official documents, prompting a Muslim resident to complain to the police.
The development drew condemnation from human rights groups and Ahmadi community activists. A spokesman for the community, Amir Mehmood, denounced the arrest.
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