Kunwar Khuldune Shahid, Opinion, London, 1 Nov 2018<\/p>\n
Her acquittal could signal a relaxation of strict blasphemy laws and create a better country in the process<\/em><\/p>\n O<\/span><\/span>n Tuesday, Pakistan\u2019s supreme court acquitted Asia Bibi<\/a> in an historic verdict<\/a>, overturning the death sentence meted out to her over charges of blasphemy.<\/p>\n The court established that Bibi, a Christian, was falsely accused by Muslim women picking fruit with her on 14 June, 2009. The allegation stemmed from a quarrel over the fact that she had taken a sip of water from a cup she had fetched for them, which in the eyes of her accusers she wasn\u2019t allowed to touch.<\/p>\n Bibi\u2019s acquittal generates hope that non-Muslim minorities will one day have the same rights as their Muslim compatriots \u2013 whether to drink water, to worship as they please or to speak their minds. Today, we can more easily imagine a tolerant and progressive Pakistan<\/a> of the future.<\/p>\n The radical Islamists, to whom religious pluralism is an anathema, are hellbent on ensuring that this change does not happen. Spearheaded by the Tehreek-e Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), violent mobs are threatening to lock down<\/a>the entire country, while calling for the heads of the judges who announced the verdict and demanding the government be dissolved.<\/p>\n TLP was formed as a pressure group<\/a> to prevent the judicial execution of Mumtaz Qadri<\/a>, who was hanged in 2016 for the murder of former Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer<\/a>. Qadri had accused Taseer of blasphemy for the latter\u2019s defence of Bibi and his criticism of the blasphemy law.<\/p>\n Today, Taseer\u2019s position on Bibi\u2019s innocence has been vindicated. Now his call for reform of the blasphemy law should also be heeded.<\/p>\n Of course that reform remains a daunting task when the TLP is no longer a fringe movement, but one that can choke the capital for weeks<\/a>, force the government to withdraw the appointment<\/a> of a member of Pakistan\u2019s economic advisory council for his Ahmadi Muslim faith (considered heretical by some Islamists), and dictate foreign policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n It is also a party that won over two million votes<\/a> in this year\u2019s general elections. Similarly, the popularity of Qadri \u2013 whose face adorns TLP\u2019s campaign posters despite his having been executed as a terrorist by the state \u2013 can be gauged by the attendance at his funeral<\/a> or the shrine in the capital<\/a> in his name, which are visited by many<\/a>, including government officials.<\/p>\n Pakistan\u2019s blasphemy law has been used to relentlessly persecute religious minorities<\/a> since the Islamist-inspired Article 295c was added to the penal code, mandating the death penalty<\/a> for blasphemy against Islam. Blasphemy allegations have increased<\/a> massively since the introduction of the Islam-specific clause in 1987, reaching 1,335 by 2015 (between 1927 and 1986 there were only seven accusations of blasphemy).<\/p>\n Personal scores are often settled under the guise of piety \u2013 something that was clearly established by the supreme court in Asia Bibi\u2019s case. And Islamist mobs undertake vigilante justice in protest that no one has yet been executed under the blasphemy law. As a result, there are concerns that Bibi\u2019s release could inspire further mob violence.<\/p>\n The long-term solution is of course to reform \u2013 if not repeal \u2013 the blasphemy law. Any law that seeks to punish a victimless thought crime<\/a> is a direct breach of freedom of religion and conscience in a civilised society.<\/p>\n While Pakistan might be a long way from embracing free speech that encompasses critiques of Islam, the verdict in Bibi\u2019s favour has edged it closer to the removal of capital punishment in such cases. Incorporating reformist interpretations <\/a>of Islam might make this possible.<\/p>\n A reformed blasphemy law would not only reduce the number of accusations \u2013 in turn reducing mob violence \u2013 it could pave the way for secular legislation. This would not only safeguard religious minorities, but also give Pakistan a much-needed national identity that isn\u2019t limited to Islam or anti-Indianism<\/a>.<\/p>\n Furthermore, after successfully reducing terror attacks<\/a> by countering the militant threat, Pakistan has an opportunity to firmly uproot jihadism by defeating it ideologically.<\/p>\n This would require resolve on the part of the government and state institutions \u2013 especially the all-powerful military establishment that has historically utilised Islamist groups<\/a> to serve its domestic and regional interests. The task is a huge one, but Asia Bibi\u2019s freedom might well help unshackle Pakistan from the darker aspects of its religious inheritance.<\/p>\n