Pakistani Ulema denunciate arrest of blasphemy accused 11-year-old Rimsha

In quite an a surprising and unprecedented move, Islamist groups including Difa-e-Pakistan Council (DPC), Khatm-e-Nabuwwat and All Pakistan Ulema Council (APUC) condemned the arrest of a young girl for allegedly burning pages from Quran.

According to the media reports, Pakistan Interfaith League along with Islamic groups came out in support of Rimsha, seeking punishment for those who had made these false accusations.

Chairman of the APUC Tahir Ashrafi, who is also an active member of the DPC, condemned the demands of mobs which pressurized police regularly for registering blasphemy charges.

In his view, such elements are pushing law and order situation in the country towards the lawless society.

He observed, “We see Rimsha as a test case for Pakistan’s Muslims, Pakistan’s minorities and for the government. We don’t want to see injustice done with anyone. We will work to end this climate of fear”.

Chairman Pakistan Interfaith League Sajid Ishaq said, “This is the first time in the history of Pakistan that the Muslim community and scholars have stood up for non-Muslims. We are together, demanding justice, demanding an unbiased investigation. And those abusing this law should be taken care of”.

In the meantime, the counsel for Rimsha informed the media that a medical review had determined that the girl was a minor.

“A report by a medical board investigating the age and mental state of the girl determined she was between 13 and 14. Her case would be heard under Pakistan’s juvenile court system, which was generally more lenient toward defendants”, Advocate Tahir Naveed Chaudhry said on Tuesday.

He further said that the board determined that her mental state did not correspond to her age. It was not clear whether that meant she was mentally impaired.

According to legal experts, the FIR against the girl with mental age of 11 should be quashed immediately.

The travesty of justice in Rimsha’s case could be gauged from the fact that the law of the land was ignored at every stage, they opined.

According to the Rule 10 (3) of the Juvenile Justice Rules, the minor girl could not, in any circumstances, be detained in police lock-up or sent to jail.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=31590

Posted by Faisal Farooq on Aug 28 2012. Filed under Pakistan, Society. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.