Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Thursday described the recently-introduced defamation law as a need of the hour and wondered how one could oppose the initiative amid an unchecked trend of levelling baseless accusations against others.
She promised not to allow anyone to take law into their own hands, as she expressed serious concerns over a recent mob lynching in Swat and other similar incidents in the country.
Citing the trend of mob justice where people within minutes assemble and don’t hesitate killing the others without checking the facts, the chief minister warned that the practice would endanger the lives of everyone and said there was an urgent need to stop the practice.
Maryam, who was addressing an Ittehad Bain ul Muslimeen Conference, cited the misuse of mainstream and social media as the reason for introducing the Punjab Defamation Act.
Maryam Nawaz said that everyone is concerned about an incident like Swat and those who disgrace religion are the biggest criminals.
The chief minister said she was unable to understand those opposing the legislation, meaning that they were against the law but won’t stop defaming others.
She said no one should experience politically-motivated character assassination and added that the issue would be settled in case of providing a proof to substantiate an allegation.
One would be punished if the purpose of hurling accusation is just to blame the other, the chief minister said, urging to provide evidence if any allegation is made.
The chief minister listed the practice as a disease which, she said, spread due to a complete absence of accountability.
Maryam cited the situation faced by the Sharif family for settling political score in 2018 as an example and narrated how a political party used some individuals for the purpose.
She lamented it was a “very painful process” to face “such allegations from a few people and a political party” at the time when her father, Nawaz Sharif, had been disqualified as the prime minister.
With hate speech and extremism in mind, she justified action against the social media accounts promoting sectarianism as a prerequisite for curbing the alarming developments.
Issuing a fatwa indiscriminately is itself a crime which must be controlled, Maryam said and mentioned two examples to prove her point.
She said a person was arrested for sexual assault on a child studying at a madrassa, but she had been facing an unending series of fatwas since that day.
The chief minister also reminded the gathering about a person who is running a campaign against sending girls to school – a reference to the video circulating on social media in which he claims that the educating them is the reason behind vulgarity and that they should kept indoors.
Maryam said the religion of any person no more mattered after the confirmation of committing a crime.
“No matter what happens, we must not allow [anyone] to take the law into their hands, set up courts in their streets and areas, and issue sentences and fatwas,” Maryam asserted.
The chief minister emphasised the need for the authorities to come together to ascertain how to tackle the issue of rising complaints of desecration.
Underscoring the need for police action to take its course, she noted that the Christian family was saved from a mob in Sardogha in May, preventing “loss of life as it did in Jaranwala“ riots.
The Christian man injured by the mob succumbed to his wounds days later. “The biggest criminal is the one who is the cause of defaming a religion and leaving a mark on it,” Maryam said. The chief minister also highlighted that more than 50,000 social media accounts and pages had been blocked.
