Daily Times

Sir: the recent news of the murder of the student of the National College of Arts (NCA) reveals another example of human cruelty. Qutab Gul Rind was a great artist and the only child of his parents. He was killed by his landlord allegedly due to the late payment of house rent.

This seems like a very weak reason to kill somebody in cold blood, and the late payment of rent cannot be the only reason behind this heinous crime. However, there have been social media campaigns that claim that Qutab was murdered on charges of blasphemy, yet no concrete evidence has been found to corroborate this fact, as yet.

In our society, people have been killing each other over several petty motives in recent years. It seems that when given the chance, human beings can be more brutal than animals. While sometimes revenge is the main reason behind such atrocities, jealousy, pride, and anger have also been known to provoke people in to committing some terrible deeds, including taking someone’s life. Whatever the case, Qutab’s murder is not the first case involving blasphemy that has come to light in recent years.

Mishal Khan, the student of Abdul Wali Khan Mardan University was also killed over false allegations of posting blasphemous content online. Although the reason behind this homicide was not blasphemy, the investigation teams stated that they didn’t find any kind of solid evidence against Mishal that suggested that he had any blasphemous inclinations. Essentially, he was killed by virtue of revenge. Before his murder, he criticized his university for various reasons. He also accused faculty members over the excessive fee structure adopted by the university. However, after he was killed, what is remarkable is that the people involved in Mishals’s murder awarded death sentences and life imprisonment. The same kind of penalty is needed in Qutub’s case if people are to be detracted from using blasphemy as an excuse to exact revenge or take someone’s life.

While the incident in question is still under investigation, it has highlighted the urgent need to stop people from committing heinous acts like murder on the behest of blasphemy Such cases showcase the inhuman actions people are ready to commit, without any shred of evidence, while they also paint a dark picture of the disturbed psychological condition of our public that is ready to kill somebody over mere allegations.

We have people who fight on the basis of nationality, religion, caste, honor, but incidents like these are turning us in to a violent society, that is ready to go to arms even if there is a hint of misconduct, especially in the religious context, without first looking for some kind of proof. Cases that involve public lynchings are coming to the fore almost daily, and yet people still let their emotions get the better of them, without thinking of the impact their actions might have on the loved ones of the victims of such crimes.

AYESHA FARHAN

Lahore

Published in Daily Times, August 8^th 2018.