A Gujranwala court dismissed on Tuesday the bail request after the arrest of a member of the Ahmadiyya community, which was arrested for blasphemy charges for distributing Niaz (food and free drinks) on Muharram’s 10 (Youm-Ashur).
The first information report (FIR) against the suspect was housed at the Police Station of the Satellite City in the city of Gujranwala in Punjab on the complaint of a resident of Hafizabad Road under section 298 (c) of the Pakistan Criminal Code (PPC), which penalizes certain acts by members of the Ahmadi community, including calling themselves Muslims or referring to their faith or referring to their faith or referring to their faith as a faith leaf.
In the FIR, the plaintiff said that the incident took place on July 6 at 4:30 pm when he saw the suspect distribute free food and drink during Muharram, “getting through Muslim.” The Ahmadi man was subsequently arrested and sent to judicial request.
The judicial magistrate of Gujranwala, Sidra Gul Nawaz, presided over a hearing for the bail statement after the arrest of man today.
The court order, a copy of which is available with Dawn.comHe said that the suspect was “declared guilty” during the investigation and that “sufficient material has been registered that connected it with the crime commission”, added that a large silver pot with Biryani chicken recovered from it.
He also pointed out that the crime under section 298 (c) was related to matters related to the religious feelings of a particular community and had “serious repercussions by law and order.”
Therefore, the order said that, as a “necessary corollary” of the above, the subsequent bail declaration was dismissed.
The PPP senator, Sherry Rehman, had condemned the arrest of the Ahmadi man and expressed the hope that the government will annul the FIR.
Last month, the Bar Association of the Superior Court of Lahore (LHCBA) asked the Punjab police chief to prevent the Ahmadiyya community from observing Islamic rituals on the occasion of Eidul Azha and takes measures against its members if they are violating the law.
In a letter, the LHCBA said that the followers of other religions and sects, especially the Ahmadis, are not legally or religiously allowed to use Islamic symbols and practices.
In March, the Pakistan Human Rights Commission (HRCP) said it had observed a growing trend of attacks led by the Mafia with Homes of Families that belong to religious minorities, as well as their places of worship.
The HRCP also spoke of the “arbitrary detention” of Ahmadis, the “desecration of their tombs” and the “vulnerability of Hindu and Christian women” to forced conversion.
The report, entitled under Siege: freedom of religion or belief in 2023-24, said more than 750 people were in prison for blasphemy charges, starting in October last year. He documented at least four faith -based murders, three of which went to the Ahmadi community.
One of the key reports of the report says that misinformation in social networks caused most cases of blasphemy registered.
HRCP observed a “growing weapons of blasphemy laws against the Ahmadis”, with cases often initiated by the officials themselves responsible for enforcing the law.
