ISLAMABAD: A day after the National Assembly resolved to insert safeguards into the blasphemy law, the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) and the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) reneged on their commitment.

On Tuesday, the lower house had unanimously adopted a resolution condemning the brutal murder of Abdul Wali Khan University student Mashal Khan on fabricated charges of blasphemy.

On that day, JI’s Sher Akbar Khan and JUI-F’s Naeema Kishwer Khan had spoken in favour of the resolution, even though the latter had not signed it. But on Wednesday, JI parliamentary leader Sahibzada Tariqullah came out in opposition to the proposal, saying that his party would not support any changes to the blasphemy law.

“The law is the law; whosoever forms a lynch mob should be acted against. But the blasphemy law does not call on people to dispense mob justice, there is nothing wrong with it,” he declared.

“The problems we are facing are due to the lack of proper enforcement of these laws,” he insisted, adding that if people were punished under the blasphemy law, there would be no room for mob justice.

Ms Khan also seemed to have a change of heart, saying that there was nothing in the blasphemy law that made people take the law into their own hands and called for its proper implementation.

Published in Dawn, April 20th, 2017

Editorial

Balochistan outreach
Updated 11 Apr, 2025

Balochistan outreach

Terrorists must be dealt with firmly, but engaging in political activity cannot be equated with terrorism.
PSL season
11 Apr, 2025

PSL season

THE build-up to the 10th season of the Pakistan Super League, cricket’s most lucrative product in the country, has...
Student woes
11 Apr, 2025

Student woes

BRIGHT young Pakistanis face an uncertain future in the US. The Trump administration, not content with merely...
Mineral wealth
Updated 10 Apr, 2025

Mineral wealth

The Baloch unrest is partly the result of the belief that the province’s resources are being used for the rest of the country rather than for Balochistan’s economic development.
Senate shortfalls
10 Apr, 2025

Senate shortfalls

THE latest Citizens’ Report by Pildat on the performance of the Senate of Pakistan is a sobering account of...
Crypto coup
10 Apr, 2025

Crypto coup

IT is quite the coup. One of the most recognisable names in the global cryptocurrency market has been roped in by ...