Opinion No House for mr Malik

The News reported on September 21: “The Supreme Court on Thursday declared 11 parliamentarians disqualified… for acquiring citizenship of foreign countries and directed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to de-notify… these lawmakers… The court ruled that Interior Minister Rehman Malik had filed a false declaration at the time of the 2008 Senate election in which he was elected and thus could no longer be considered ‘sagacious,righteous,honest and ameen’… The court also directed the parliamentarians to submit a new declaration before the elections,which,if turns out to be false,would make them liable to be disqualified from being elected or chosen as member of parliament or a provincial assembly for making mis-statements and concealing facts. The court said such an act would also be ground for criminal proceedings.” Dawn added: “Like other lawmakers,the minister [Malik will be facing legal proceedings by the ECP,which may entail a punishment of up to seven years and also require him to reimburse all monetary benefits drawn… up to July 11,for the period he occupied public office”.

Fight for religion

THE anger in the Muslim world over a controversial film found strong resonance in Pakistan. The government declared Friday a public holiday to be observed as “Youm-e-ishq-Rasool (Day for the love of the prophet). Cellular phone services were shut down and the army was called in. The Express Tribune reported on September 21: “There have been… demonstrations around Pakistan over… Innocence of Muslims,but Thursday was the first time protests in the capital turned violent. The clash between the police and protesters,mostly students spearheaded by the Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba and supported by the traders’ unions,lasted up to eight hours. Police fired tear gas,rubber bullets and even live ammo (aerially) as demonstrators tried to enter the heavily-guarded enclave,home to most Western embassies,including the US,British and French missions.” Daily Times added: “The government called in the army… after protesters broke through a barrier of shipping containers…”

The Express Tribune’s website reported on September 21 that Pakistan Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf demanded of the UN a law to ban anti-Islamic expression and equated it with anti-Semitism: “We are demanding… a law that bans such hate speech aimed at fermenting hatred… through such falsehood which is a grave violation of all basic norms of humanity,international law,interfaith harmony… UN conventions,religious freedom,tolerance and civilised conduct’.”

Following the enemy

IMRAN KHAN and the ruling PPP are political rivals. Still,PM Ashraf took a leaf out of Khan’s speech when he appealed to the UN. He referred to the Holocaust and how laws protect the sentiments of the Jewish community. The Express Tribunereported: “It has become clear now that this is not freedom of speech but Fasad fil-ardh (spreading mischief in the land),’ he said.” Last week,Khan likened the sentiments of Muslims for blasphemy with that of the Jews’ for the Holocaust. He said that the mere mention of the word “holocaust” has a sensitive connotation. He reportedly then stated that Muslims are “being hurt in the name of freedom of speech and that they will also get the same law implemented in the West”.