Men pray over the grave of Mumtaz Qadri, the man Pakistan executed last year for assassinating a governor who proposed reforming the country’s blasphemy laws, during their visit to Qadri’s shrine on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan, January 5, 2017. Picture taken January 5, 2017. REUTERS/Faisal Mahmood
Source: Reuters
A Pakistani Senate committee is set to debate how to prevent the country’s blasphemy laws being applied unfairly, despite opposition from religious conservatives who support legislation that carries a mandatory death penalty for insulting Islam.
Senator Farhatullah Babar told Reuters that the Senate Committee on Human Rights, of which he is a member, will start discussions on blasphemy laws as early as next week, based on recommendations from a 24-year-old report.
He said it would be the first time in decades that any parliamentary body had considered a formal proposal to stop the abuse of the blasphemy laws.
According to Babar, the committee would consider a proposal making it binding to investigate complaints before registering a case, to ensure “genuine blasphemy” had been committed and the law was not being used to settle scores, as critics say it is.
Categories: Asia, Blasphemy, ISLAM, Pakistan, The Muslim Times