Zubair Qureshi Islamabad
The Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Athar Minallah on Thursday directed the police not to register any more cases against the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leadership under the country’s blasphemy laws over the Masjid-i-Nabwi incident, stressing that “religion should not be dragged into politics”.
He made these remarks as the court resumed hearing the petition filed by PTI leader and former information minister Fawad Chaudhry who called for cases registered against the party’s members under the country’s blasphemy laws to be declared illegal.
The cases were registered against top figures of the previous regime — including former Prime Minister Imran Khan, former Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Qasim Suri, ex-PM’s aide Shahbaz Gill and Fawad Chaudhry himself— after some Pakistani pilgrims chanted slogans at Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his delegation during their visit to the Masjid-i-Nabwi last month.
During the hearing, Justice Minallah remarked that registering cases for your own benefit was a disrespect to one’s own self. It is a huge violation of human rights.
He observed that it was the responsibility of the state to bring about an environment of patience and stability in the country.
If there is no patience, things like these (registering cases) will happen, which are wrong. Whatever happened was not right.
Apparently, it seems that the cases registered in Pakistan were not justified, he said. The IHC chief justice pointed out that religious sentiments were important but the state had a responsibility.
