Daily Times

Pakistan’s blasphemy laws leave very little wiggle room for those accused-an accusation generally means death, usually by an angry mob taking the law into their own hands. In a country where loud displays of religiosity are common in public life, and self-righteousness the dominant virtue, speaking about religion is like asking for a death sentence. This time, the victim is a Muslim scholar who was dragged out of a police station and then promptly beaten to death mere hours after a blasphemy accusation was levied against him. As of earlier this year, blasphemy, which was already a capital offence is now punishable with up to 10 years in prison.

But the majority of those accused never make it to court at all. Instead, they’re lynched or strangled or slowly beaten to death. In recent years, these episodes have risen to an alarming level, happening with more and more frequency each year. Instances of mob violence, and state-enforced criminal blasphemy cases, are more frequent in Pakistan than anywhere else. Blasphemy allegations have led to the vandalising of Hindu temples and neighbourhoods, the burning of police stations and even the lynching of a university student on campus. Let’s not forget that a provincial governor was murdered by his security guard over allegations of blasphemy.

Many governments have made promises to tackle the menace of religious violence but at the end of the day, most were too cowardly to confront the religious far-right, giving people exactly the ammunition that they need to settle personal vendettas under the pretext of blasphemy. Our civil institutions have become so theocratized that it is no longer possible for lawyers to defend alleged blasphemers. Meanwhile, law enforcement agencies remain entirely unequipped to handle frenzied, vigilante mobs, finding themselves overpowered and giving in to their demands. Today, the need for moderation and a return to liberal values os stronger than ever. Only a truly powerful state can oversee that. *