Teenage Hindu boy arrested for allegedly posting blasphemous content on social media

[Loralai]

A 19-year-old Hindu boy was booked by police in Mirpurkhas' Mirwah Gorchani area on Tuesday for allegedly posting blasphemous content on social media.

The teenager was arrested and a case was filed against him under Section 295-A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) on the orders of Mirpurkhas Senior Superintendent Police (SSP) Abid Ali Baloch after local prayer leader Mohammad Anwar Soomro filed a complaint.

Soomro alleged that the suspect had hurt the religious sentiments of Muslims by posting 'highly controversial' posts on his Facebook account starting July 30.

While talking to local journalists, residents of Mirwah Gorchani claimed that the suspect had been upset after his teenage sister Ganga (now Ayesha) had embraced Islam of her own will a few days ago. They added that some other members of his family were also expected to convert to Islam.

The suspect was sent on 14-day judicial remand on Tuesday, soon after his arrest.

Advocate Kashif Bajeer, a human rights activist in the area, demanded a thorough probe into the matter while talking to Dawn.

Despite repeated attempts, the SSP Mirpurkhas could not be contacted for his version on the matter

https://www.dawn.com/news/1424257

How incredibly sad that we are seeing such incidents in 2018.

These inhumane and out of date laws need to be scrapped.

 

[hafeezrocks]

What did he post?

 

[Hitman]

It would be premature to comment on the issue without knowing what he posted.

 

[Azmi]

It would be premature to comment on the issue without knowing what he posted.

Either it is cow respect in India, or Blasphemy laws in Pakistan, all of them should be abolished. They are against the humanity.

Muslims all day long abuse Mirza Qadiyani on the facebook and no one takes any action against them. They are also free to abuse the gods of Hinduism and still no one blame them for blasphemy.

 

[Asim_khan]

Either it is cow respect in India, or Blasphemy laws in Pakistan, all of them should be abolished. They are against the humanity.

Muslims all day long abuse Mirza Qadiyani on the facebook and no one takes any action against them. They are also free to abuse the gods of Hinduism and still no one blame them for blasphemy.

You need to register a case and call them out for their hypocrisy then

 

[Madplayer]

Blasphemy laws have no place in today's world. However, people are expected to put their points across in a polite manner rather than resorting to vile language which can inflame passions. Freedom of speech isnt freedom to abuse.

 

[Arham_PakFan]

Blasphemy laws have no place in today's world. However, people are expected to put their points across in a polite manner rather than resorting to vile language which can inflame passions. Freedom of speech isnt freedom to abuse.

I agree regarding both points.

 

[BlackShadow]

I used to be very critical of religion in my teenage years, but then one day I read a Facebook message where some guy of a religion I don't want to mention gave me 36 hours to live and that scared me so much! Now I barely ever participate in religious debates, not even in online forums. Hopefully the boy will learn his lesson too.

 

[PakLFC]

At most the police should have a polite word with him then release him as he is just a kid. Problem is that Mullah's in Pakistan love this kind of thing for publicity and will call for the most disgusting forms of punishment. Islam means peace and tolerance, right? Well, we have to prove it by dealing sensibly with such things.

 

[Fahdi]

I don't think the blasphemy laws can ever be fully removed from Pakistan because Pakistanis want their country to maintain a Muslim identity. But I think with education we can marginalise these cases. Things can become so that these laws come in to play only in the most glaring and blatant transgressions(and maybe even then public apologies can stave off death sentences). Highly educated people tend to simply be a lot more tolerant and most would never take part or even endorse lynchings and mob justice. Many would rather ignore the transgressors or try to engage in arguments. Political groups tend to disrupt this process though, student organizations such as the Jameeat of Jamat-e-islami and others more extreme need to be removed from universities. And not just religious groups, most political groups promote this gang and mob mentality. Universities need to be treated as politics free zones for the most part.