Daily Times

The religious parties have observed chehlum of Mumtaz Qadri on March 27, 2016 at Liaqat Bagh Rawalpindi. The announcement was made from the platform of Tehreek Sirat-e-Mustaqeem (Movement for the Right Path) at the time of the burial of Qadri at Bara Kahu, Islamabad, on March 1, 2016. A sit-in has been continuing at the D-Chowk, Islamabad for the last couple of days after the participants started marching towards Islamabad at the end of the commemoration services. What does it bode for the state of Pakistan and for the military strategic thinkers? This question needs to be responded clearly in order to evaluate future strategy of religious organisations in Pakistan.

Before the execution of Qadri on February 29, 2016, numerous agitations were held to pressurise the judiciary to acquit Qadri in the Salmaan Taseer assassination case. A type of religious frenzy is being witnessed after Qadri’s hanging, which includes bombastic speeches by religious leaders, press conferences by politico-religious parties, small rallies for show of street strength by Beralvi organisations, sit-ins by Sunni elements and demonstrations by traders and lawyers at selective places in Punjab. These activities are putting pressure on the government to concede space for action to religious establishment. Lately, the provincial government has given assurance to amend Protection of Women Act (WPA) before its formal implementation throughout the province. Since some religious leaders have nearly succeeded in holding an impressive show at Liaqat Bagh last week, they have therefore put forth a number of demands to get maximum benefit out of the Qadri issue. Let us analyse how these demands are going to assist and preserve relevance of religious parties in Pakistan.

The execution of Qadri has not only provided a common platform to all religious parties but also reinvigorated their activities across Punjab. These parties had employed innovative practices for public mobilisation for the occasion. For example, Dr Muhammad Asif Jalali while criticising District Administration Sheikupura for stopping people from participating in commemoration services of Qadri maintained that District Police Officer would bear a heavy price for taking legal action against followers of Qadri. Many students of seminaries had also distributed pamphlets among the rural population of different districts in the province. Even school children were employed for propagating the news of the chehlum. The religious conferences had also been arranged on daily basis to criticise the government on execution of Qadri, demanding exemplary punishment to denigrators of the Holy Prophet (pbuh). They had also criticised Punjab Sound System (Regulations) Act whereby legal action is being initiated against prayer leaders and scholars especially during Friday sermons. A consistent effort has been seen for keeping Qadri issue alive through these antics till the acceptance of their demands.

After the sit-in at D-Chowk nine demands have been laid out to end the protest in the Red Zone, including execution of Asia Naureen, imposition of Islamic Order, no amendment in blasphemy law (295-C PPC), release of detained workers of religious organisations, punishing blasphemy convicts, public declaration of martyrdom of Qadri, no diyat or qisas of any accused of namoos-e-Risalat, swift action against ‘Qadyanis’ and that they should not be given jobs in government departments.

The first demand of the religious junta is execution of Asia Naureen (Asia Bibi) who has been incarcerating in jail for the last seven years. There are multiple issues involved in hanging of Asia Bibi. She was accused of blasphemy in June 2009, and a case was lodged against her. She was sentenced to death by a local district court judge in November 2010. Point to be noted was that she became the first woman to be condemned to death in a blasphemy case in the history of Pakistan. Her appeal was rejected in the Lahore High Court Lahore in October 2014. Her clemency appeal is already lying with the president of Pakistan. In July 2015, Supreme Court suspended Asia’s death sentence for the duration of appeal process and the Supreme Court Lahore Registry Branch is going to hear an appeal in the case. If the three-member bench rejects the appeal and maintains her punishment then the office of president will have to make the final decision on her execution. The religious clergy have been criticising the government and the judiciary for sending Qadri to gallows and not deciding Asia Naureen’s case. Government cannot remain ambiguous and will have to take a decision in the matter.

The demand regarding imposition of Islamic Order, though enshrined in the constitution of Pakistan, carries a number of pitfalls owing to different interpretation of Islamic principles. Moreover, a change in section 295-C PPC will require proper debate and discussion so that its wrong use can be curtailed. Similarly, demands coupled with changes in diyat and qisas also require proper consultation and examination. The Ahmedis were declared non-Muslim in 1974, and the present call to expel them from government jobs will be against the spirit of the constitution. At present, government can only release the arrested religious activists with verbal commitments to look into the other demands. They can also concede some space on a number of other issues like National Action Plan (NAP), Punjab Sound System (Regulations) Act (PSSA) and WPA.

After the Army Public School massacre in December 2014, the NAP was agreed upon by politico-military leadership in Peshawar. A systematic crackdown was conducted against violent religious elements along with strict implementation of PSSA. Any violation of the Act has resulted into legal action against the violators. The public contact space has therefore shrunk for religious elements through these actions. Any relaxation on the matter will be readily taken by religious organisations. Interestingly, if we look at the recent actions under the NAP, then majority of the cases are either pending trial with courts or under investigation.

The Qadri narrative has also provided the religious organisations to relate the event to the ideological basis of Pakistan. They have even criticised the army leadership for supporting the government and not playing an effective role against Qadri’s execution. It seems that it has contributed to a new lease of life to religious parties especially the JUI-F and JI. The latter has even started mass contact campaign against corruption to mobilise the people and cash in on the prevailing religious outpouring in the province. Any forceful eviction of demonstrators will create ill will among the general public. The central government will also have Model Town incident at the back of its mind. A non-lethal force may best be employed for clearing D-Chowk in Islamabad with mass arrests if negotiations fail to resolve the matter. Nonetheless, the religious establishment will enjoy a high moment provided to them through the execution of Mumtaz Qadri for months to come.

The writer is the Senior Superintendent of Police, Special Branch, Lahore