ISLAMABAD: A parliamentary committee on Thursday was perturbed to learn that a nine-year-old child was implicated in a blasphemy case after he allegedly urinated in a seminary and was later granted bail by a court.

“This goes against the principles laid by the founder of the nation Mohammad Ali Jinnah and the law of the land. The administration could have prevented the incident by coordinating with the locals and the influential people but negligence has been done in this particular incident by them as well as the police,” said National Assembly Standing Committee on Human Rights Chairperson MNA Shazia Marri of the PPP.

The committee was briefed by senior police officials investigating the desecration and vandalism of a temple in Bong village in the district of Rahim Yar Khan a few days ago.

Although restoration work on the temple has been done, the committee said the minorities should be protected so that they could feel secure to live in the area. The committee directed that progress in the case should be shared with its members and the culprits and miscreants should be punished and dealt with as per law.

The committee reluctantly allowed Um-i-Rubab to be heard who has seeking justice for the murder of three of her family members for the last three years.

When Ms Marri said her case was not on the agenda, the members reminded her that the meeting was requisitioned to give Ms Rubab a chance to speak.

Her grandfather, father and uncle were killed in an attack on their residence in Mehar Town by a group of armed men in January 2018. The attack was alleged to have been carried out at the behest of Chandio chieftain MPA Sardar Chandio and his younger brother, Nawab Burhan Chandio.

“I do not want anything from this committee or expect anything. I just want to fight the case and expect justice to prevail,” she said.

The chairperson of the committee demanded complete information before the matter could be discussed further.

“The case has been through various stages of judicial process,” said Ms Marri who initially did not allow her to speak saying the matter was sub judice.

The committee also sought a report on Noor Mukaddam murder case and after listening to the investigating police officer, it was decided to have an in-camera meeting.

Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2021