- Lawyer says they will appeal in the Islamabad High Court soon
September 20, 2024
By Xari Jalil
LAHORE
Shagufta Kiran, a Christian mother of four children, was given a death sentence on Wednesday, September 18, after the judge convicted her under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws.
The 40-year-old was convicted under Section 295 A, B and C, Section 298, and Section 11 of the PECA laws, said her lawyer Rana Abdul Hameed. Additional Sessions Judge, Islamabad, Muhammad Afzal Majoka also sentenced Kiran to a fine of Rs300,000 after a three-year trial.
Tariq Mehmood Ghauri says non-profit organization National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) had been rallying for her release ever since she had been arrested three years ago from her home in Rawalpindi. Ghauri who was working on her case file in NCJP says that the woman had worked as a nurse, and that she had keen interest in learning about other religions. She had had an argument with some people on a Whatsapp group over the age issue in Islamic marriage and someone had complained about her to the FIA who had arrested her.
The woman, a mother of four, had previously sought bail from both the trial court and the Islamabad High Court (IHC), but her bail applications were rejected by both courts.
The arrest took place on July 29, 2021 on the basis of sharing blasphemous content in the Whatsapp group back in September 2020. She was accused of insulting Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
Kiran had joined several interfaith Whatsapp groups where she discussed her Christian faith and proclaimed the Gospel. One of these was called Pure Discussions, which became the center of the controversy. It was run by three people of the Muslim faith: Shiraz Ahmed Farooqi in Pakistan, Muhammad Ameer Faisal in India and Muhammad Jaleel in Canada.
Abdul Hameed said that Kiran may not have been targeted per se for an ulterior motive as in the case of Asiya Bibi – but that she was involved in various debates on different religions. “In all these discussions, she may have said something to anger them, and so they lashed out,” he said.
The complaint against Kiran was filed by Farooqi, who had alleged that she had shared blasphemous content, however Kiran, however, maintained that she had forwarded the content without reading it and was not its author.
Her husband and two sons who were initially taken into custody during the raid were later released.
Lawyer Rana Abdul Hameed said that the case could have been easily sorted out in the three year trial, but for some unavoidable issues. “Our judges, especially those from the lower judiciary, are extremely weak and easily pressured by the hardliners who show their power whenever it comes to such cases,” he said while speaking to Voicepk. “If you scrutinize all the cases that fall under Section 295-C, trial courts often find the accused guilty even when the evidence against them is flimsy. This tendency arises from pressure exerted by religious groups and the fear of mob violence. However, upon closer examination, you’ll notice that all convictions made by trial courts are eventually overturned by the superior courts.”
However Hameed is positive about an appeal in the Islamabad High Court saying that it was a good case for acquittal as there was a lot of room to prove in a higher court that his client was innocent of blasphemy.
“My client is under a lot of distress and depression,” he said. “One can only imagine what kind of life she is leading – locked up under false charges, leaving behind her family particularly her four children, since the last three years.” He said a few NGOs were also lobbying for her release including Jubilee Campaign and Voice for Justice Campaign.
Recent Incidents
Only a day ago, the gruesome killing of a doctor took place after he was accused of blasphemy. Shahnawaz Kambhar was based in Umerkot, Mirpurkhas district and was killed by a police officer. His family ended up in ‘forgiving’ the murderer. Kambhar had been in hiding after he was accused of insulting Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and sharing blasphemous content on social media, none of which was proved. The circumstances surrounding his death are still under investigation. A mob later also seized the body and set it on fire.
According to relatives, when Dr. Kumbhar’s father arrived with his son’s body at their hometown in an ambulance at 4am, an angry crowd blocked their entry into the village. The family attempted to transport the body 40 kilometers to a small town for burial but faced opposition from a large gathering. They ultimately brought the body to a desert area on their land for burial.
During this process, the mob overpowered them, seized the body, and set it ablaze, resulting in significant damage to the remains. Relatives noted that police arrived only after the body had been burned, and they gathered for burial only once law enforcement was present.
On August 16, 2024 a year was marked since the Jaranwala incident when 21 churches were burned by a mob on allegations of blasphemy on two Christian residents. More than 80 Christian homes were destroyed and ransacked, but ultimately 90 percent of the suspects who were involved in the attack were either acquitted or remain at large.
In August, a teacher was also killed in Balochistan over blasphemy charges.
An English teacher associated with a language center was shot and killed by unidentified gunmen in Turbat town, Kech district, following allegations of blasphemy. Twenty two year-old Abdul Rauf was attacked near a graveyard in the Malikabad area while he was on his way to a jirga of ulema to clarify his stance on the accusations, accompanied by several individuals. Sources indicated that students from the language center had filed complaints with local clerics, claiming that he had committed blasphemy during one of his lectures. The situation also gained significant attention on social media.
Two murders which should have shocked our national conscience but instead are being celebrated for “ensuring swift justice.”
Abdul Ali of Quetta who was accused of blasphemy last week for certain statements he was seen making in a video recording. A FIR was registered against… pic.twitter.com/toLeUSgThT
— M. Jibran Nasir 🇵🇸 (@MJibranNasir) September 19, 2024
According to statistics provided by Center for Social Justice (CSJ), since 1987, nearly 3,000 people have been accused of blasphemy in Pakistan and while the actual scale of abuse of these laws is even higher.
It said that hundreds of accused were incarcerated last year (2023) in Pakistan, with 552 detained in prisons in Punjab alone. At least 350 persons remained behind bars as of June adding that 103 new persons had been accused of blasphemy in between January and June 2024.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said it is “gravely concerned by the alleged extrajudicial killing of two people accused of blasphemy: a hotel owner in Quetta while in custody, and a doctor in Umarkot during a police raid”.
“This pattern of violence in cases of blasphemy, in which law enforcement personnel are allegedly involved, is an alarming trend,” the commission said in a statement. It urged the government to conduct an independent inquiry into the death of the doctor in Umarkot and ensure that those responsible are held accountable. “At a wider level, the state must counter the rising radicalisation (much of which has been historically sponsored by the state itself) that triggers such incidents,” the HRCP said.
The Joint Action Committee also condemned the acts and said that there must be a campaign against the misuse of the Blasphemy Law.