LAHORE, Aug 20: The Women Action Forum has demanded repeal of the blasphemy law.

Citing the example of a case registered under the blasphemy law by Mianwali police against a social activist and district councillor, Rukhsana Bunyad, the WAF said on Tuesday the case was a manifestation of one of the worst forms of religious extremism and fundamentalism in the country. She had been accused of making remarks against the Holy Quran.

The WAF said the case was registered against her under Section 295-A at the behest of local politicians settling old scores and the religious lobby in Mianwali to fan religious sentiments against her.

According to the WAF, speaking at a seminar on the proposed constitutional amendments, Ms Bunyad’s remarks were misunderstood by a number of journalists who started to protest. Clarifications were offered by participants including former minister Sher Afghan, as well as an apology by the speaker for having inadvertently hurt anyone’s feelings.

“This is for the first time in the history of the country that a woman has been charged with blasphemy and that too for merely trying to stress the importance of the Constitution. However, this is not the first time that an innocent citizen has fallen foul of this law by those who use it to settle personal scores through the blatant misuse of religion they profess to uphold. We strongly urge that the case against Ms Bunyad be dropped and effective measures be taken to ensure her safety as there are reports that a death squad has been formed to murder her,” the WAF statement said.

The WAF said Ms Bunyad was granted bail on Aug 8 but despite the fact that 35 participants in the seminar and four local religious scholars recorded their statements in her favour, her bail was not confirmed on the next hearing on Aug 15. The next date of hearing for her bail was set for Thursday.