Pakistan: Victimising in the name of honour
Source:
Outlook India In Pakistan, the blasphemy law has only acted as a catalyst to abuse the innocent in the name of religious honour. Is Islam so brittle and vulnerable that it can easily be dishonoured by a so-called 'insane' statement?
The blasphemy law was introduced by Gen Zia ul Haq and was added to the penal code in 1982. As per the law, desecrating the Qur’an or making a derogatory remark about it is punishable with life imprisonment. Outlook India reports that over the years, the blasphemy law, instead of building and promoting a code of conduct for respecting Islam and its values, has produced mounting intolerance towards religious minorities. It has been used more and more for cases of political vendetta, land disputes, political or personal rivalry. The law became a way to challenge someone's identity, a powerful tool to intimidate anyone, Muslim or non-Muslim.
