FOR six long years, a gifted academic named Junaid Hafeez languished in solitary confinement inside the Multan Central Jail. The Fulbright scholar had returned to the Bahauddin Zakariya University to teach students how to think about the big questions in 2011.

He was passionate about poetry, prose and playwriting and wished to inculcate the same in his students. However, he was arrested under Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code after some allegedly blasphemous comments were attributed to him in 2013. One year later, the sole attorney brave enough to take up his case was gunned down in cold blood inside his office.

In a climate of extreme fear, Hafeez could never receive a fair trial. His parents implored the previous chief justice to look into their son’s case, as his mental and physical health was deteriorating inside the tiny prison cell. According to the Centre for Social Justice, over 1,500 citizens have been charged with blasphemy between 1987 and 2017.

While no one has been executed by the state, enraged lynch mobs have killed scores on the basis of mere accusation. Hafeez was not even safe inside his prison, as other prisoners had repeatedly attempted to take his life.

This week, a district and sessions court handed Hafeez the death sentence. A story that had begun differently morphed into a tragedy. But the story is not over yet. His defence attorney has said they will file for an appeal.

In the past, the higher courts have overturned the judgements of the lower courts — most prominently in the case of Aasia Bibi, who was sentenced to death by a Sheikhupura court. Years later, she was acquitted by the Supreme Court in a landmark judgement.

It is to be hoped that the superior judiciary will intervene this time as well. It is also time for Pakistan’s government to ensure the blasphemy law is not misused any longer to settle personal vendettas and professional jealousies, or target the most vulnerable communities.

Published in Dawn, December 24th, 2019