A Graveyard for Lunatics

DISCLAIMER: This piece was written yesterday, and then languished overnight due to a PTCL outage. It contains emotion and other profanity.


I am rarely at a loss for words. I certainly wasn’t this morning, when I started out on a smarmy skewering of George Fulton’s ‘I’m leaving Pakistan because she’s being mean to me dammit!' piece in the Express Tribune yesterday. I was going to run with his personification of the blessed motherland as a flighty female prone to self-destructive megalomania, I was. I was particularly taken with the bit featuring the Bryan Adams song where Pakistan, the impenetrable, fecund, feminine other, sings to him the lyrics To really love a woman/ To understand her - you gotta know her deep inside/ Hear every thought - see every dream/ N' give her wings - if she wants to fly/ Then when you find yourself lyin' helpless in her arms/ You know you really love a woman...

Then I ran it by another Pyala who, with what is in hindsight admirable self-restraint, politely asked me if I’d bothered turning on the TV or reading the news today. I did both and found out that our Federal Minister for Minorities had been assassinated in Islamabad. And then there I was, open mouthed, shell shocked, silent, on the dreaded Island of Lost Words. In such a situation, what is the value of mere words?

Ironically enough, it is Infinite, according to those behind the latest assassination in Islamabad this morning. I will be happy to issue a retraction should the motives behind this senseless tragedy be conclusively proved to be something mundane, like extortion, or something exculpating to the national conscience, like ‘a hidden hand’, but until then I shall continue to assume that, like the late Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer, Shahbaz Bhatti was killed because of the words he uttered.

These words, for which he had been receiving death threats for the past month, had specifically to do with the late minister’s position on our blasphemy law. Mr. Bhatti, representing as he did some of the most disenfranchised citizens of this blighted nation, bravely and ceaselessly kept pointing out the way the law has been misused to harass and oppress his constituents. His essential argument, that a law that leads to injustice more often than it does justice merits reform if not repeal, was in direct opposition to the simplistic, ignorant stance taken by most of the participants in what passes for public discourse on the subject. For this principled stance Mr. Bhatti, like others before him, paid with his life.

Words then, I have to continue to assume, are powerful enough for other people to feel threatened by. Words that carry truth, particularly when they touch upon the misinterpretation of religion, intimidate those whose words don’t. In our history, or rather our collective amnesia, we have often responded to words of truth and beauty with the vituperation, forcing into exile or silencing of those who utter them. But now I have to ask myself a different question, i.e. what is the value of mere words when the other side is using guns?

There was a time when some of us would have leapt at the chance to throw words into this maelstrom, to comment on a senseless tragedy like the one today. As journalists, as commentators, as columnists, it would have been like going to the Promised Land. High profile murder? Check. Law and order issue? Check. Spectre of extremism? Check. Possibility of point scoring against toothless government? Check. Energizing, empowering, emboldening feeling of being part of a struggle that is bigger than one’s self? Check, Check, Check and Check!

That time is long past.

Now, when we sit down at our keyboards, our desks, or take our notebooks in our hands to begin the process of writing another Pakistani’s obituary, another summation of the life of a brother or sister felled by the demon of militant extremism we have allowed to feed on our children, it is not the purposeful elation of a collective struggle we feel but despair. Despair, in someone else’s words, “of the possibility of ever changing the prevailing state of affairs, of ever being redeemed from it..”

Faced with this insidious, creeping bleakness, even the strongest of us might be tempted, fleetingly, to embrace the self-anesthetization, the comfortable numbness, of those who survive by not speaking at all, by not writing at all, by not thinking at all. But we must. We must because there is soft ground beneath us and if we stop, even for a second, to rest or lick our wounds we might sink and be lost.

So today I write this not as a journalist or a commentator or a columnist or a wiseass but as a Pakistani. I write this for those moderate Muslims who no longer wish to think, write or speak into an apparent vacuum so that you know you are not alone. I write this for my Christian, Hindu, Scheduled Caste, Atheist, Agnostic countrymen and women, so that they know that they are not alone. I write this for me, so that I know I am not alone.

I write that I condemn, in the kind of language I would like to hear from our gutless, myopic leaders, the brutal, unjust slaying of a brave, principled man advocating a return to the pluralistic principles on which this country was founded. I write that I condemn those within the political and military establishment who protect the nest of vipers in our midst. I write that I condemn the spineless, self-preserving hedging about of the spineless, self-preserving fuckwits swarming TV and newsprint. I write that I condemn the willful, witless intolerance seemingly decent people practice through their silence during bloodthirsty sermons delivered in mosques and drawing rooms. I write that I condemn those whose reaction to events like this is a diminishing of their personal and political engagement with the world around them rather than an expansion. I write that I condemn every parent, grandparent or caregiver who lets strangers dictate their child’s moral code.

And I write that I take personal issue with every man, woman or adolescent who says ‘but’ when debating whether dissension merits death.

:::UPDATE:::

I picked up the papers with trepidation this morning, precisely because I was afraid to read passages like the one below, taken from Dawn’s story about PM Gilani’s ‘new strategy to fight extremism’.

"THREE REMAIN SEATED: But many in the house and the galleries were surprised to see three bearded members of the opposition Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam of Maulana Fazlur Rehman remaining seated in their chairs when the rest of lawmakers stood up to observe two minutes’ silence for Mr Bhatti.

There was no immediate explanation what motivated the JUI back-benchers, in the absence of their party leader, to violate a parliamentary etiquette, and a directive given by the chair, in agreement with some voices raised in the house, that members stand up to pay a silent tribute to their assassinated colleague."

Here’s a new strategy for you to fight extremism with PM Gilani: name and shame those who will not rise against it.

List Please

Ansar Abbasi triumphantly points out on the front page of The News today that what is "generally ignored in the ongoing discussions in the media" is that the mandatory death punishment for blasphemy "applies to all the prophets" as per the 1991 ruling of the Federal Shariat Court (FSC). He writes:

"The selected portions of the FSC judgment are: "It is also to be noted that Allah Almighty creates no distinction or inequality in the status of the Prophets though. He did bestow on some of them more gifts than others." While quoting different verses of the Holy Quran, the judgment said, "Practically, all the jurisconsults and scholars agreed that in view of the above verses and the equal status of all the Prophets as such, the penalty of death as determined above shall apply, in case any one utters contemptuous remarks or offers insult, in any way, to any one of them.""

Explaining how the FSC judgement becomes the law de facto, he says:

"Ismail Qureshi, senior advocate of the Supreme Court, religious scholar and the man who fought a long legal battle to get death sentence for blasphemers in the Pakistani statute, told The News that the Federal Shariat Court's decision got finality after the then government had withdrawn its appeal from the Supreme Court. In talk shows and discussions even some prominent lawyers were heard saying that the Section 295-C is flawed as it does not cover all the prophets. Qureshi explained that after the FSC's judgment, the Section 295-C would be read in the light of the Shariat Court's decision. Former Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice (retd) Saeeduzzaman Siddiqi, when approached, endorsed Qureshi's viewpoint and said that after a superior court's ruling gets finality, it becomes law no matter whether the concerned law is amended by the government or not."

Forget for a moment that this is Mr Abbasi's version of justice: in effect, his argument - like that of many other  blinkered defenders of the warped laws - is that those campaigning against them, which includes scholars of Islam, are mistaken because they are allegedly non-discriminatory. (Incidentally, typically, Abbasi picks on the argument of one marginal group of people who do not even represent the view of most of those who hold these man-made laws problematic. Nevertheless, if there were ever a decree to put to death all those with beards, I assume Abbasi would also defend it as non-discriminatory and commit hara-kiri.)

But I want to go on a different tangent.

Now, the Holy Quran actually names only 25 prophets. But it also says in Surah-e-Nahl that Divine Messengers were sent to every community (through history) and Allah also points out in Surah-e-Nisa:

“We have told you the story of some Messengers and of others We have not …”

So the Quran never tells us the exact numbers. However, according to Hadith No. 21257 from Musnad Ibn-e-Hanbal, the number of prophets is 124,000. Some scholars contest the veracity of this particular saying of the Prophet. Ibn-e-Saad claims the number is actually 1,000 while others say the number of prophets is as high as 224,000.

What I would like Abbasi and others of his ilk (including the mullahs of the FSC) to do is to provide us a verified list of ALL the prophets covered by this 'law', preferably all possible 224,000, but even 1,000 will do. Because, you know, we don't want to even inadvertently blaspheme against any of them by throwing someone's business card into the waste-paper basket.

Fatwa Back At You (Corrected)

Further evidence of the depths to which some in Pakistan have sunk. This is a short video of the Murtid Qadri being presented in court yesterday, charged with the murder of Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer, where he was lauded by some lunatic lawyers, showered with rose petals, garlanded and even kissed. (Link courtesy Shahid Saeed.)





This is an account of his presentation in court today from the Express Tribune, where the lunatics once again greeted him. In addition to the lunatic lawyers, most religious fitna parties have refused to condemn Taseer's murder, with many going out of their way to praise the "valour" of the deranged criminal. They include the so-called "sufism-inspired", "moderate" Barelvi parties (Qadri is from the Barelvi sect) who in fact have been at the forefront of defending the murder.

Many in the media seem also to be hemming and hawing, refusing even to attach the word "shaheed" [martyr] to Taseer (whereas they think nothing of attaching it to people dying in accidents and even the Lal Masjid terrorists), apparently buckling to open threats hurled at media houses and anchors by extremists. The height of hypocrisy has come from anchors and talk-show participants, pretending to treat the issue "objectively" by debating the straw-man polarization of the country into 'left' and 'right' extremists. Actually, as Kaalakawaa has pointed out in his excellent post, all they are doing is equating murder with a voicing of opinion and demonstrating their blinkered cowardice. (There have been a few notable exceptions to the general cowardice on the electronic media in this case and it is only fair to also point these out: Iftikhar Ahmed (Geo's Jawabdeyh host as a panelist on Dunya TV), Kamran Khan (on Geo), Mosharraf Zaidi (as an independent analyst on Dunya), Moeed Pirzada (on Dunya), Najam Sethi (on Dunya), Arshad Sharif (on Dawn News), Rauf Klasra (as a panelist on Dawn News) and Sana Bucha (on Geo) - of the ones I watched - did not try to hedge their bets.)

But perhaps worst of all, most mainstream 'secular' political parties, including the Taseer's Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), have been at best mealy-mouthed about their condemnations. In fact, the PPP has shown remarkable pusillanimity and short-sightedness by refusing to take on the issue of religious extremism head-on and instead claiming a political conspiracy behind Taseer's murder, basically attemting point-scoring against the PML(N) Punjab government. The PML(N) government does indeed have a lot to answer for (since Qadri's Elite Force came under its jurisdiction) but surely the greater issue is of the mindset that has been allowed to be cultivated in this country. The party's official stance - as articulated by the closet rightist law minister Babar Awan and the blundering interior minister Rehman Malik (who boasted he would shoot a blasphemer himself as if to prove his piety credentials) - has been nothing short of abominable. This at a time when even conservatives such as Pakistan Muslim League (Q)'s Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain are willing to concede - in the face of growing civil society outrage - that steps do need to be taken to stop the misuse of religion by the lunatics.

The Let Us Build Pakistan blog has published a fatwa (religious decree) by Mufti Idris Usmani against not only Qadri but also those who support him in word or deed. Normally, I would never post a fatwa on here because I believe them to be largely irrelevant to today's world and usually absurd. But as I pointed out in an earlier post, it's about time these lunatics got a taste of their own medicine.

"Shaykh-ul-Islam Hazrat Mufti Muhammad Idris Usmani of Jamia Islamia has issued the following fatwa about the killer of Governor Punjab (Pakistan) Salman Taseer and about those who are praising and justifying his murder.

Question:

What do the Ulema say about the murder of Governor of Punjab (Pakistan) Salman Taseer who was killed by his own security guard. The guard claimed that he killed Salman Taseer because he was blasphemous to the Prophet (peace by upon him). However, there is no evidence of Salman Taseer’s blasphemy to the Prophet (pbuh). What do the Ulema say about many people who are praising Salman Taseer’s killer?

Answer:

“In the Name of the Merciful and Compassionate Allah, Dar al-Fatwa. Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Universe; blessings and peace be upon our Master Muhammad, the Apostle of Allah, and upon his Family, his Companions, his Followers and those who have found the way through him.

I have carefully read the whole issue and also read various news reports and articles related to this (issue). I have also spoken to the jayyad ulema (eminent scholars) in Pakistan and India.

In the light of the available evidence, I state the following:

1. Malik Mumtaz Qadri has committed gunah-e-azeem (great sin) by killing an innocent soul. By taking law into his own hand, by killing an innocent man, and by bringing disgrace to the name of Islam, Malik Mumtaz Qadri has created fasad fil arz (mischief on earth) and committed tauheen-e-risalat (blasphemy to the Prophet). Same applies to those who are creating further mischief (fasad) by praising or justifying this heinous crime in the name of Islam. The killer of Salman Taseer is a real blasphemer to Islam and the holy Prophet (peace be upon him).

2. Those individuals and groups including the ignorant ulema, misguided journalists, politicians, lawyers wa deegar (etc), who are celebrating or justifying in any manner this heinous crime must be treated as accomplice in this crime. Those who endorsed a fatwa of Salman Taseer’s murder too must be treated as mufsid fil arz and must be punished according to the Shariah.

3. While the state of Pakistan will pursue a legal case against the killer and his abettors according to their national laws, the following verses from the Quran clearly specify the punishment for Malik Mumtaz Qadri and his supporters and cheerers.

This is a case of fasad fil arz. The perpetrators of such acts should be punished as provided in Sura Maida of the Quran (Ayah 32 and 33).

32. We ordained for the Children of Israel that if anyone slew a person―unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land― it would be as if he slew the whole people: and if anyone saved a life it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people. Then although there came to them Our Messengers with clear Signs, yet even after that many of them continued to commit excesses in the land.

33. The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger, and strive with might and main for mischief through the land is: execution, or crucifixion or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides, or exile from the land: that is their disgrace in this world, and a heavy punishment is theirs in the Hereafter.

According to Islamic Shariah, Malik Mumtaz Qadri, any one supporting or praising his act must be executed by law or crucified or their hands and feet cut off from opposite side. Exile is not needed in the present case as the State can exercise Shariah authority on its citizens and subjects.

Those who are praising a killer and a mufsid want to go to Hell of their own accord.

For others, we can only pray for their path of righteousness.

In the light of religious commands, in the light of religious rules known to us, I think that these people should renew their faith and renew their marriages. But no one can remove anyone’s obstinacy. I pray to Allah to enable all Muslims, through His Prophet, pbuh, to be steadfast to His religion, Islam. Ameen!

Muhammad Idris , Mufti, Darul Ifta, Jamia Islamia

29 Muharram-ul-Haram 1432 AH"

There's also a list of people on the LUBP blog of who they think fall under the ambit of this fatwa.

Here's an idea. Register blasphemy cases against all these fitna leaders and lawyers. Clog up the courts with blasphemy cases and let's see how the pious Federal Shariat Court and the enlightened Supreme Court deal with it.


: : : UPDATE / CORRECTION : : :

We have been made aware that the above mentioned alleged fatwa posted on the LUBP blog is fake. And while I personally may still subscribe to the notion that religious lunatics need to be dealt with strongly, as a blog we cannot allow fabricated propaganda to damage our credibility. We really should have been more skeptical of the source and while we did link to the original, we should have qualified ourselves better. The inclusion of the made-up fatwa also marginalizes the rest of the post, by which we stand. Apologies to all our readers. A separate clarification will also be posted. Needless to say, we will look upon any future information posted by the LUBP blog with a far more skeptical eye.

The Real Blasphemers

"Mera azm itna buland hai ke paraye shaulon ka dar nahin

Mujhe khauf aatish-e-gul se hai, ye kaheen chaman ko jala ne de"

[My resolve is so strong that I do not fear the flames from without

I fear only the radiance of the flowers, that it might burn my garden down] 

— Shakeel Badayuni couplet referenced by Salmaan Taseer on Twitter, 8 hours before his assassination 

I had been hoping that I could post something light-hearted, more entertaining at the start to the new year, but today's Pakistan it seems is not the place for these sort of things any more. Four days into January and we already have yet another tragedy that has evoked not only pain and sadness but also immense amounts of disgust at the depths to which we, the unfortunate inhabitants of this blighted country, have sunk.

Assassinated Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer: last man standing (Photo: APP/Dawn)

Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer's brutal and senseless murder in Islamabad today (Tuesday) is not only an intensely heavy blow for his family and friends - to whom our thoughts go out to - but also to the hopes for a saner public discourse about issues that certain people endeavour to keep out of the conversation altogether. He often said things that many think but are unwilling to say in public out of fear or aversion to stoking argument. Whatever anyone may have thought about Taseer's personal life (not that it's any of anyone's concern) or his business practices, there is absolutely no doubt that he was a brave and outspoken man who did not compromise his personal beliefs for the sake of cowardly politics. Along with barely a couple of other politicians on the national level (Sherry Rehman being one), his was a rare voice that was willing to take on the rightist mullah mindset in the public domain.

And contrary to what his detractors claimed, he did so with full awareness of the moral responsibilities of a public figure. In a recent interview, he was asked why he chose to raise the issue of the unjust blasphemy laws when he knew that he would receive brickbats from the rightist parties and become the target of the extremists. He replied: "Because if even I don't, how will others get over their fears?" On December 31, he tweeted:

"I was under huge pressure sure 2 cow down b4 rightest pressure on blasphemy.Refused. Even if I'm the last man standing"

In Salmaan Taseer's untimely death we have all lost a truly courageous individual. Those within his party who opposed his just stand on the abhorrent misuse of blasphemy laws, moral pygmies such as Babar Awan, should hang their heads in shame.

The face of fanaticism: Malik Mumtaz Qadri (Photo: Reuters)

At the same time, one must also feel disgust at those who have either valourized Taseer's self-confessed lunatic murderer Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri, or used their weasely arguments to somehow try and justify the outrage. So-called-intellectuals like Irfan Siddiqui and bigots like Jamaat-e-Islami's oily Fareed Paracha and the ever-slimy Ansar Abbasi tried their best to claim (on Geo) that Taseer was somehow himself responsible for his fate because he had raised a "sensitive" issue. I am not of the opinion that one should not speak ill of the dead only because he or she is dead, curse Zia ul Haq with every breath as far as I am concerned. But these gentlemen's basic argument was this: even expressing your opinion about a warped law made by a warped dictator and endorsed by his warped proteges is enough to condemn you to death, so everyone should keep quiet about the misuse of religion and leave it all up to the mullah brigade. It's time to tell them to shut the fuck up themselves.

But the disgust does not end with a couple of morons trying to silence all discussion about religion to and other fanatics praising a criminal. The bigger issue, as we have been saying all along, is the refusal of society to see the inter-linkages of such acts of terrorism with the mindset that has been cultivated through the military establishment's promotion of jihadi outfits, the propping up of so-called religious parties whose only agenda is bigotry, the pusillanimous and opportunistic silence over the treatment of minorities such as Ahmadis, Shias, Hindus and Christians and indeed all dissenters (religious scholar Javed Ghamdi being one), the valourization of criminals such as the illiterate Ilm Deen (dubbed shaheed [martyr] because he was hanged in 1929 for murdering a publisher), the rejection of rationality and logic, the marginalization of the arts and cultural traditions as something alien to our society, and the tolerance for hate-speech and incitements to violence such as that of this monkey. It is this mindset, which has been cultivated by the state looking the other way at - if not directly promoting - acts of radicalization, that allows an entire police squad to see nothing wrong in one of their own planning to commit the murder of someone they are assigned to protect. (We now hear via Geo that Qadri had in fact confided to his colleagues in the Punjab 'Elite Force' about his plans and had even requested them not to shoot at him, a request they honoured.)

Our real disgust should be directed at all those parts of society that cannot put two and two together despite the evidence staring them in the face. We will inevitably hear a lot in the media about security lapses and administrative efficiency lapses that led to a criminal being part of a protective force (incidentally, Geo is also reporting through its sources that Qadri had been sacked from the Punjab Police's Special Branch a few months ago because he was dubbed a 'security risk'). But the only void that I think we really need to focus on is the one in our society's collective brain.

So how do we deal with all this? I have heard a lot of dismay and hopelessness today and I can completely understand the feeling. For many people, this is another nail in the coffin of the idea of a viable future for Pakistan. The only option to counter this feeling of despondency, in my opinion, is to become more assertive and louder and to shame those who would stifle dissent. The problem of course is that wishy-washy liberalism cannot fight fanaticism. Sometimes you have to fight fire with fire. Simply put, we can either shut up, resign ourselves to our fate and disconnect from this country and society or we can fight back and refuse to cede the space that the bastards want us to. Nobody ever said it would be easy.

As a start, let us declare Qadri, all those who support Qadri and murderers like him, the Khatm-e-Nabuwat movement and its ilk as outside the pale of Islam. Let's see how they like being referred to as blasphemers and murtids. Nobody said the fight would not be dirty.

Open Letter to Chief Justice of Pakistan

Dear Honorable Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry,


I am writing this open letter to you because the righting of wrongs is avowedly a part of your movement for judicial reform, and the matter in question must be particularly close to your heart, being as it is close to your first and last names too.

I read in the news today that a doctor in Hyderabad was arrested, and a case registered against him under the Blasphemy Act, when he threw the business card of a medical representative with the first name of Muhammad into the dustbin. Now I know that some people are thinking well that’s one small step back for all Pakistani Muslims, and one giant leap forward for all Pakistani Medical Representatives, but I for one wept with joy at the news.

You see, your exalted lordship, if indeed this report is true, I see in this ingenious application of a tragically misunderstood law…the Blasphemy Act is meant to protect the Quran and the Holy Prophet (PBUH) from ridicule, not expose them to it, I don’t know why some buffoons just don’t seem to get that… I see in this ingenious application of a tragically misunderstood law the seeds of the Great Pakistani Muslim Revival. Now that a precedent has been set, some of the biggest thorns in the nation’s side can be effectively removed, and some of its most cacophonous trumpets silenced.

I have listed below some of the cases that merit your most immediate, most esteemed, attention. I am sure, once the enthusiasm my idea will inevitably kindle in you has been communicated to all the appendages of the state, the judiciary and the general population, others will come forth with more scenarios too. Then, we can begin to cleanse the face of this nation, follow it up with some aggressive exfoliation, and enjoy the beatific effect of the spiritually moisturized smile we subsequently share with the world.


1) Any cricket player, official, reporter, commentator, spectator, umpire, random passer by who has ever expressed reservations about Muhammad Yousuf, Muhammad Amir or Muhammad Asif’s character in writing should be arrested and charged under the Blasphemy Act. That will really clean up the game.

2) Any school/college/kindegarden/madrassah teacher, principal, administrator or instructor who writes a negative comment in the report card of any student with the name of Muhammad should be arrested and charged under the Blasphemy Act. There should be a particularly harsh sentence for the sentence 'Muhammad is a bright child but is easily distracted and lacks the ability to concentrate on his work.'

3) Any college, school or kindergarten student who mistreats pages containing the name and verses of Allama Muhammad Iqbal (mistreatment including but not limited to burning, tearing, ripping, doodling in the margins or making planes out of or – in the case of the kindergarten kinder, eating) should be arrested and charged under the Blasphemy Act. Since the burden of proof of innocence is on the accused, the learned judge in charge of cases featuring minors must be hardened against tears, tantrums and wanton cries of ‘dudu biskit! dudu biskit!’

4) Any tandoorwala, paanwala, umroodwala, bhuttawala, chanawala, assortedwala who wraps his offerings in paper that contains the name Muhammad should be arrested and charged under the Blasphemy Act.

5) Any traffic policeman, immigration official or station house officer of any thana attempting to write a challan or file an FIR against any person with the name Muhammad on his driver’s license, passport or NIC should be arrested and charged under the Blasphemy Act.

6) Anyone coming into contact with books, pamphlets, promotional literature that contain the name Muhammad, or cards advertising services of aalims offering cures for love, impotence, curses, memory loss or age that happen to be named Muhammad, without showing said books, pamphlets, promotional literature or cards adequate respect (for the purposes of this argument let that be holding them below navel level or tossing them carelessly on to a seat or – in the case of the cards – out of the window) should be arrested and charged under the Blasphemy Act.

7) Any woman who has received a passionate letter from an admirer named Muhammad and, wanting to conceal it from the prying eyes of her younger siblings and/or parents, wadded it up into a ball and thrown it into a dustbin should be arrested and charged under the Blasphemy Act. (This, your lordship, I consider a particularly important lesson as it will teach our women to be wary of a significant percentage of the male population, urge them to toss their lovers but keep their letters, and hence do that little extra bit we need to safeguard their morals).

8) Any columnist, critic, reporter, journalist or opinion maker who questions your judgment in opening these floodgates should be arrested and charged under the Blasphemy Act.

The Scum of Pakistani Journalism

If you had any doubts about

1) the new Cyber-Crime Act, also known as the Pakistan Electronic Crimes Ordinance (PECO)

2) Ansar Abbasi, also known as the snivelling worm of journalism

take a load of this story in The News, proudly proclaiming the two working in tandem, to nab someone who sent a private email to Ansar Abbasi, allegedly with "blasphemous content."

Some choice selections from the story:

On the complaint of Ansar Abbasi, Editor Investigations, The News, and following initial investigations held by the IT Wing of the Jang Group, the FIA traced the accused through the obnoxious e-mail and got him arrested for allegedly committing blasphemy. This is the first case of its nature in Pakistan where an accused has been arrested for committing blasphemy through the Internet.

...

The accused is alleged to have sent an e-mail to Ansar Abbasi, at his official e-mail address, in response to the column of the senior journalist that appeared in the daily Jang on June 29. The accused used Dr Omar Zia as his name and used khayyam_o@yahoo.com as the e-mail containing highly blasphemous material.

...

Since the Prevention of Electronic Crime Ordinance (PECO) does not have any provision covering the serious offence of blasphemy, therefore, the case was referred to the Karachi Police after the accused was arrested by the FIA under Section 5 of the FIA Act. The accused was probed by the concerned Cyber Crime Circle of the FIA in Karachi under Section 20 of PECO.

Later, on the advice of the FIA, a fresh complaint was lodged with the Karachi Police by Ansar Abbasi, reporting the receipt of blasphemous e-mails because PECO was inadequate to be applied in such a serious offence. On receipt of the said complaint and following the investigations carried out by the FIA, an FIR was formally lodged by the Karachi Police against the accused on blasphemy charges.

There are a number of issues that this case throws up. The first, of course, is the collusion between a journalist (Abbasi), a news orgnaization (Jang Group) and the authorities in a matter that held no significance to the public. The email, sent by the accused (even under a false identity) was sent privately to the journalist, did not from the looks of it contain any threats of harming the journalist or the news organization, and could not have led to any public incitement of any sort without it being made public by the journalist and the organization. That, rather than simply ignoring an "obnoxious" email or replying to it privately, the journalist and his news organization would inform (i.e. rat out to) the authorities in order to track down the sender and prosecute him, tells you much about the journalistic credentials of both. As someone who does not tire of being self-righteous about other journalists who collude with government, Ansar Abbasi should know this is precisely what he has done.

Secondly, it also shines a light on how exactly the PECO is going to be (mis)used. Once again, the said email/s did not, prima facie, include anything that could be considered as bringing the security of the country into threat or disrepute, which the government has been claiming is the only matter PECO will address. Neither did it have any "malicious", or "ill-motivated" hoax directed against the government - this was a private email sent to a private individual, expressing an opinion. That the FIA should deem it fit to get involved in this matter, makes a mockery of the parameters of even this highly controversial law.

Finally, it also raises the red flag over the Taliban-mindset within so-called independent journalists such as Ansar Abbasi and segments of a government supposedly opposed to the persecution of citizens on religious grounds. The fact that both connived in registering a case under the odious blasphemy laws - which carry a mandatory death sentence - against an individual, indicates exactly where their commitment to freedom of speech and expression lie. At issue here is not how "blasphemous" the emails allegedly were. The simple point of the matter is they were not in the public domain and could not have caused any "public reaction" (the fallback response of the witch-hunters); they were simply used to settle personal scores and persecute someone who obviously had hurt Mr. Abbasi's gargantuan ego.

A sad, sad day for Pakistan's citizens and Pakistani journalism.