Christians Under Attack

Faisalabad (AsiaNews) – Arif Masih, the
40-year-old Christian arrested a few days ago on alleged blasphemy, “is in safe
custody” at an undisclosed location, said Shahid Anwar, coordinator for the
National Commission on Justice and Peace of the Pakistan Catholic Church in
Faisalabad. He has closely followed the affair along with diocesan director Fr
Nisar Barkat. He said that “90 per cent of the Muslim community” does not
believe that he is guilty, but rather the victim of a personal vendetta over
land.

On 5 April, Arif Masih, a 40-year-old Christian from Chak Jhumra
village (Faisalabad Diocese), was arrested by police on blasphemy charges. He
allegedly ripped some pages of the Qur‘an, and sent threatening letters to local
Muslims telling them to convert to Christianity.

First Information Report N. 133/2011 was registered at the Sahiyanwala
police after Shahid Yousaf, one of Arif Masih’s Muslim neighbours, filed a
complaint in accordance with Section 295 C of the Pakistan Penal Code. The two
men had been previously involved in a legal dispute.

However, the charges are against “person or persons unknown”, and Arif
Masih’s is not officially listed as a defendant.

For Arif’s brother, Ejaz Masih, he is the victim of a scheme concocted
by Shahid Yousaf and his two brothers, Zahid and Rashid Yousaf, who put pressure
on police.

Speaking to AsiaNews, Shahid Anwar, Shahid Anwar, coordinator
for the National Commission for Justice and Peace of the Pakistan Catholic
Church in Faisalabad, said that he was cautiously optimistic because the
complaint is very general, based on Section 295 C of the Pakistan Penal Code,
which is generally known as the blasphemy law, whilst Arif’s “name is not
mentioned as that of the offender.”

“We know that Arif is in safe hands and that he is totally innocent,”
the Christian activist said. “However we would like to know what really
happened.”

At present, the 40-year-old Christian man “is in safe custody” with the
police at an undisclosed location.

The local branch of the NCJP remains “close to Arif and his family,”
and is waiting to see “the outcome of the investigation before providing legal
assistance.”

“We are certain that he did not defile the Qur‘an and that he did not
send any threatening letters. His name does not appear in the blasphemy
complaint, which contains just a vague statement. He is not named as a
defendant”.

“There are suspicions. He was detained waiting for further
investigations but his name does not appear on the charges, which are against
person or persons unknown.”

The activists said, “90 per cent of local Muslims believe that he is
innocent,” the victim of a dispute over the ownership of some land. “The Muslim
party lost a case, and is now trying to get back at the other party.”

In fact, Arif’s family recently won a court case over the ownership of
a piece of land. His accuser belongs to the Muslim family that lost the case. He
appears to be trying to take revenge by using the blasphemy law, which is often
used to settle personal scores or legal disputes.

According to data collected by the Catholic Church’s NCJP, at least 964
people have been indicted for desecrating the Qur‘an or defiling the name of the
prophet Muhammad between 1986 and this year, including 479 Muslims, 119
Christians, 340 Ahmadis, 14 Hindus and 10 from other religions. Since its
inception, the law has been used as a pretext for attacks, personal vendettas
and extra-judicial murders, 33 in all by individuals or enraged
mobs.