02.06.2013 Views

ludUO

ludUO

ludUO

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

Members of minority communities had many reasons to demand security.<br />

a superintendent with the gas company, had been dismissed from her job and<br />

the boy had been arrested.<br />

In November, a teacher in Lahore was accused of blasphemy over giving<br />

her students a piece of homework that allegedly contained derogatory references<br />

to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The teacher was forced into hiding after the<br />

school management denied all responsibility for her actions, sacked her and<br />

called for her to be punished. The school management took out front page<br />

advertisements in two leading newspapers to deny any knowledge of the<br />

supposed insults to the prophet.<br />

The school’s headmaster had been taken into custody but his lawyer said<br />

the police had only arrested him to appease the mob. The school administration<br />

said that announcements had been made in the nearby mosques to inflame the<br />

public.<br />

Also in November, a man accused of blasphemy against Prophet<br />

Muhammad (PBUH) was found guilty by a court in Chitral district of Khyber<br />

Pakhtunkhwa and awarded the death sentence and a fine of 100,000 rupees.<br />

The accused, Hazrat Ali Shah, was reported to have uttered the objectionable<br />

words in March 2011.<br />

In December, a man detained in a police lock-up on accusation of<br />

desecrating the Quran was beaten to death and his body torched by a mob<br />

who stormed a police station in Dadu, Sindh. Over 1,000 people had attacked<br />

the police station, held the policemen hostage and snatched away the accused<br />

who had been handed over to the police a few hours earlier. Earlier,<br />

announcements were made from nearby mosques about desecration of the<br />

holy book. The police had not even ascertained the name and identity of the<br />

Seraiki-speaking man, much less authenticity of the charge, before the mob<br />

kicked, punched and hit him with clubs until he died. Police arrested some<br />

individuals who were part of the mob. Seven policemen were also taken into<br />

115<br />

State of Human Rights in 2012

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!