Why does religious extremism occur in our country? Religious extremism, why is intolerance increasing instead of decreasing? There are many reasons for this and can be disputed,But no one can deny that the tradition of killing each other on the basis of sectarianism, extremism, intolerance and sectarianism was introduced in the beloved homeland during the tenure of General Zia-ul-Haq and then it continued to increase.According to a report by the Center for Social Justice, last year, in 2020, the highest number of blasphemy cases was registered against 200 people. This is the highest number in 37 years since the blasphemy law was amended under former military ruler General Zia-ul-Haq. Earlier, in 2009, a maximum of 113 people were prosecuted on these charges.
If you look at the few incidents of killing in the name of blasphemy, the soul trembles at the brutal and heartbreaking manner in which human beings are killed. Such an incident took place when another innocent person was brutally killed on the basis of blasphemy.
Priyantha Kumar, a factory manager from Sri Lanka, was set on fire yesterday after he was killed in front of thousands of people in the name of blasphemy.According to the postmortem report, the body of this person was ninety-nine percent burnt and no bone was safe except his feet.
This is not the first case of murder in Pakistan after being accused of blasphemy, nor can it be called the last.A few years ago, Mashaal Khan was also brutally murdered in a university hostel by an angry mob in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for blasphemy.Hundreds of people are currently in jails in Pakistan on charges of blasphemy.Many such incidents have taken place in the name of blasphemy in the country. After investigation, it was found out that these incidents took place on the basis of personal obstinacy or misunderstanding.Strict measures have been required to prevent these incidents, but governments have been reluctant to take drastic measures against these elements for their own self-interest.
While in the fatwa of blasphemy it is clearly written that
“Under Article 295 C of the law of Pakistan, the punishment of arrogant prophet is death.And it is the responsibility of the government to enforce this punishment if it is found and the confession or testimony of Shariah witnesses proves it.And it is the government’s job to enforce all the shariah limits, including blasphemy, and to impose punishments.
(Darul Iftaa: Jamia Uloom Islamia Allama Muhammad Yusuf Banuri Town)
The fatwa clearly states that if such a crime is committed, it should be punished according to the law, but no one was allowed to take the law into his own hands.But we believe in religion but sadly we do not believe in any religion.
One such incident occurred when Salman Taseer, a former governor of Punjab, was assassinated in January 2011 in Islamabad by one of his bodyguards, Mumtaz Qadri, on the grounds that he had raised his voice against the law.Mumtaz Qadri was sentenced to death twice in 2011 by an anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi.The Islamabad High Court had in February 2015 upheld the death sentence on appeal against the sentence.The case had become so sensitive in Pakistan that no senior lawyer was ready to fight the case against Qadri.While all available legal means were being used to save Mumtaz Qadri, religious sectarian and other organizations and personalities have been protesting for the release of Mumtaz Qadri and the abolition of his death sentence. Was started.After the confession of Mumtaz Qadri, he was sentenced to death.
After the execution of Mumtaz Qadri, this movement emerged as a more popular force.Leading organizations and figures included Dr Muhammad Ashraf Asif Jalali and Maulana Khadim Hussain, leaders of the Tehreek-e-Labeek or Rasoolullah Al-Alami and the political party Tehreek-e-Labeek-e-Islam.Later, under the patronage of Maulana Khadim Hussain, Tehreek-e-Lubaik Pakistan was formed which in a very short time emerged as a major political force in Pakistan.In its six years of political existence, TLP has staged seven different protests to meet various demands. Each time these protests turned violent and each time they ended with an agreement with the government of the day.
During the recent sit-ins and protests, 9 policemen were martyred in clashes between TLP and police.It is also unfortunate that not a single provincial or federal minister bothered to visit the homes of these martyred policemen.It was a shameful act that instead of arresting the killers who martyred the policemen, the already arrested TLP activists were not only released.On the contrary, until a few days ago, the party which was being declared as enemy of the country by the Federal Minister of PTI and it was being said that this party gets funding from enemy country and tutor accounts are also run from India.Then all of a sudden it happened that from the federal interior minister to the foreign minister became part of the negotiations and agreement.
The federal government not only released the arrested TLP members including Saad Rizvi under a secret agreement but also dropped the cases against them.The government said in a statement that “these measures were taken to protect the lives and property of the people in the wider interest of the country.”The cases filed under the Fourth Schedule against the activists of TLP will be dropped.According to government spokesmen, the TLP is an extremist organizationand as a result of which the federal government had banned this organization then action should have been taken against them while fulfilling all the legal requirements.But the government accepted all the demands of the TLP under a secret agreement in the “wider interest of the country”.
If the killers of the 9 martyred police personnel of Punjab Police are brought to justice and the killers are pardoned without the consent of the families of the martyrs and secret agreements will continue to be made without fulfilling the requirements of justiceThen we should be ready for tragedies like Sialkot.
Love of religion is a part of faith but we always use this part for our personal interests.Patience, endurance, tolerance are all gone in us.We inadvertently become part of the mob, whose sole purpose is to spread evil.Where are we going? We were never like that before.Love, affection, peace was the hallmark of this country.The world used to give us an example of hospitality but today we are being disgraced in the world and at the same time we are moving away from religion.The Sialkot incident has passed, but we are not yet aware of the troubles and troubles that will befall us in the times to come.If the government had taken corrective action on the previous incidents, this tragedy would not have happened today. Like every other incident, a committee has been set up to probe the Sialkot incident.The government is urged not to take a soft line in the name of religion for those responsible this time.The perpetrators should be severely punished as this tragedy has done irreparable damage to Pakistan’s image around the world.Pakistan is being ridiculed in the world over this incident.
We as a nation must recognize that whether it is the government, the institutions or the 22-crore people, they are not learning from the tragedies of the past.If the government, the state power and the people do not play their primary role in controlling the growing religious fanaticism, then it is feared that such elements will become a walking bomb in our society.They will explode whenever they want, wherever they want.If the state does not stop the growing trend of extremism and fanaticism, the consequences could be dire.
