Published by The Internatinal News Pakistan on 3 September 2012.
ISLAMABAD: Chairman Pakistan Ulema Council, Hafiz Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi Monday stressed that if the court releases Rimsha Masih, the Christian girl accused of blasphemy, then in that case the government should take steps to ensure her security.
Hafiz Tahir Ashrafi addressing a press conference along with the representatives of religious organizations and leaders of Christian community, demanded of the government to form an investigation team to bring the facts and real culprits before public eye.
He said the acts of Khalid Jadoon, the Imam of the Mosque who is in police custody on charges of tempering with the evidence in Rimsha's case, has 'made our heads hang low in shame'. No Muslim can commit such a mortifying act, he added.
"Rimsha is Pakistan's daughter and if the government cannot provide protection to her, the Pakistan Ulema Council is ready to do so," Tahir Ashrafi claimed.
Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi said that Pakistan's blasphemy law should be retained but added that the standard of investigation also needed to be improved in the wake of recent events in regard to the registration of First Information Report (FIR). "This law must not be allowed to be made a mockery of."
He proposed that apart from Muslim Ulema and Muftis, people from other faiths living in Pakistan should also be taken on board to stop the misuse of this law. Otherwise, a strategy in this connection will be formulated in coordination with religious and political forces, he added.
Hafiz Ashrafi said Kahlid Jadoon was not the central character in the case and stressed that the masterminds should also be unveiled. "We will try our best to ensure that no one gets subjected to excesses and justice gets upheld."
Related reports:
Police have arrested ‘imam masjid’ (prayer leader in the mosque), Khalid Jadoon, accused of tampering with the evidence against Rimsha Maseeh, who has been in detention since she was allegedly found holding in her hand burnt pages with holy verses printed on them, Geo News reported.
Two more witnesses after Maulvi Hafiz Zubair recorded their statements against Imam Masjid Khalid Jadoon in the Rimsha Masih blasphemy case.
The medical board formed to evaluate Rimsha Masih, the Christian girl accused of blasphemy submitted its report to the court on Monday. The medical board was formed on the directives of the district magistrate. The medical board consisted of a physician, surgeon, medico-legal officer, dental surgeon and a gynaecologist. According to the report of the medical board, Rimsha Masih is approximately 14 years old but has the mental capability of a younger child.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/christian-blasphemy-girl-innocent/story-e6frf7k6-1226479555770?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+HeraldSunNewsBreaking+%28Herald+Sun+%7C+Breaking+News%29
ReplyDelete23 Sept 2012 Investigating officer Munir Jafri said police could not find any evidence against Rimsha Masih, thought to be 14, who was accused in August of burning pages from the Koran in a case which sparked an international outcry.
"We have also told the court that there are witnesses and evidence against the local imam for framing a false blasphemy case against Rimsha," Mr Jafri said.
Judge Ghulam Abbas Shah adjourned the case till Monday, September 24 to decide on whether Imam Hafiz Mohammed Khalid Chishti, who was arrested for allegedly adding pages from the Koran to a bag of burnt paper, should face trial.
Rao Abdur Rahim, the counsel for Rimsha's neighbour Hammad Malik who had accused her along with Chishti, said he was not satisfied with the police report.
"This report is based on the bad intentions of the investigators and is made to prove Rimsha innocent. But, I will fight the case and make her face trial," he said.
Rimsha and her family, who fear for life after the blasphemy charges, were moved to an undisclosed location since her release on bail on September 8.
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/pakistan-court-acquits-christian-girl-blasphemy
ReplyDelete20 November 2012, ISLAMABAD (AP) — A Pakistani court on Tuesday acquitted a Christian girl accused of blasphemy over the burning of the Muslim holy book, her lawyer said.
The ruling was the final chapter in a case that caused an international outcry over Pakistan's strict blasphemy laws, which are very popular in the country and are primarily used against supposed offenses to Islam.
In August, the young Christian girl was arrested in Islamabad after a Muslim cleric accused her of desecrating the Muslim holy book, the Quran. The cleric was later accused of fabricating evidence against the girl, whose mental capacity was subsequently questioned.
Attorney Abdul Hameed said the court on Tuesday exonerated his client for lack of evidence and dismissed all charges against her, concluding they were based on heresy and incriminated material that was planted in the girl's possession.
"I am happy that the poor girl's ordeal is now over," he told The Associated Press after hearing the court ruling in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.
The girl was freed on bail in September and since then she has been living with her parents at some undisclosed location in Pakistan. She has not made any public appearance due to security reasons.
The girl's name has been released by Pakistani authorities and in the media but The Associated Press generally does not identify juveniles accused of crimes. Pakistan's blasphemy laws carry a punishment of life in prison or the death sentence.
Pakistani and international human right groups have urged the government to change the blasphemy laws, saying they laws are too broad and vague, and are often used by people who are trying to settle scores with rivals or target religious minorities, who make up 5 percent of Pakistan's 180 million-strong population.
Although many Muslims are also accused of insulting the Prophet Muhammad or other acts deemed blasphemous, minorities in Pakistan are disproportionately represented among the defendants, rights groups say.