ISLAMABAD: The Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights on Tuesday suggested that measures need to be adopted to prevent the misuse of the blasphemy law.

At the start of the meeting, the committee chairperson, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Senator Nasreen Jaleel, clarified that the meeting did not intend to seek amendments to the law.

“The intention is to ensure fair implementation of the law,” Ms Jaleel said, adding more Muslims than non-Muslims had fallen victim to the law and innocent people had suffered due to its misuse.

While a few members cautioned against tampering with the blasphemy law, many supported MQM Senator Mohammad Ali Saif, who said the blasphemy law had been “misused more than any other law.”

The law itself came under discussion after National Commission on Human Rights (NCHR) chairman, retired Justice Ali Nawaz Chohan, submitted proposed procedural amendments to check the misuse of the law. He began by saying that procedural safeguards should be developed to prevent the misapplication or misuse of the law, regarding the blasphemy offence.

Mr Chohan recommended that a high-ranking police officer, not lower than a superintendent, must investigate a blasphemy case.

He also recommended ensuring that the prosecution and investigation agencies functioned independently and impartially in a manner that respected and protected human rights without discrimination. He emphasised that prosecutorial discretion should be exercised to ensure that only bona fide complaints of recognisable criminal conduct were registered and pursued.

Criminal cases should only be registered when courts have concluded, or there are reasonable grounds to believe, that the complainant or witnesses in blasphemy cases have committed perjury.

“It is important ensure that blasphemy cases are presided over by district and sessions judges. Anyone wrongly accusing an individual of blasphemy must also be prosecuted,” he said, and added that imams and police officials should be educated on the subject.

Mr Chohan also recommended that the law must be considerate towards a person who apologises for blaspheming or denies the charge.

Jamaat-i-Ulema Islam (JUI-F) Senator Mufti Abdul Sattar warned against tampering with the law, and said it would be wise to engage the Council of Islamic Ideology in the matter.

PPP Senator Farhatullah Babar welcomed to recommendations, and reiterated that the committee would suggest measures to prevent its abuse without amendments to the law.

Senator Saif said Islam was flexible with plenty of room for Islamic reforms.

Meanwhile, PPPP Senator Sehar Kamran said former governor Salman Taseer’s murder was “the world example of misuse of the blasphemy law. It must be ensured that such heinous acts are never repeated,” she said.

The committee will hear suggestions from its members on how best to prevent misuse of the blasphemy law.

Rangers

The committee felt that it was misled by the Rangers when one of its heads claimed a foreign commission on human rights had endorsed the Karachi operation.

In the committee’s last meeting in July, Col Qaiser Khattak – who oversees the Rangers operation in Karachi – claimed that a foreign human rights body had supported its methods to eradicate terrorism in the city. Mr Babar had then challenged his claim and asked for proof.

During Tuesday’s meeting, Mr Babar noted the absence of the Rangers official asked to provide the report from the human rights body that had endorsed the Rangers’ actions in Karachi.

“I have researched, and there is no human rights watchdog that endorsed the Rangers’ Karachi operation. The Human Rights Commission South Asia, which the Rangers official mentioned in the last meeting, is a bogus organisation and does not exist,” the senator said.

He said such false claims undermined the credibility of both the army and the Rangers.

Published in Dawn, August 17th, 2016