Blasphemy allegations: Govt will never tolerate ‘mob justice’, minster tells PA

KARACHI: The Sindh Home Minister reaffirmed the government’s unwavering respect for the sanctity of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) during the assembly session on Friday, but warned that it will not tolerate mob justice over blasphemy allegations.

In a statement regarding the Omerkot blasphemy violence, Zia Ul Hassan Lanjar, the Sindh Home Minister told the assembly that this is an appalling incident and will not be tolerated. He said an inquiry has been opened to find out the reasons.

He reaffirmed his party’s respect for the sanctity of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and the importance of upholding religious sentiments. However, he made it clear that such respect must be shown within the framework of the law.

He said that blasphemy content was uploaded in Omerkot, which caused public agitation leading to violence with one police patrolling vehicle torched, while Dr Shahnawaz was killed in Mirpurkhas on the same allegations.

The death of Dr. Shahnawaz has sparked controversy, with police claiming it occurred during an encounter, while people indicate it was an extrajudicial killing, the minister said, adding that probe has been ordered in this regard.

He said that the DIG and SSP Mirpurkhas will remain suspend until the investigations are completed. Similarly, SHO Sindhri and other police officials have also been suspended.

Lanjar said that the government has also to maintain peace and order in the society and cannot permit anyone to take law into hands.

“We are not an official or judge to decide,” he said and gave some details about Dr Shahnawaz, saying that the accused was being taken for investigation when violence broke out.

Sindh Education Minister, Syed Sardar Shah said that Omerkot District inhabits 54 percent religious minority and appreciated the Home Minister for controlling the situation. He said that the religious groups have also shown responsibility on the incident.

Jamaat-e-Islami’s Muhammad Farooq said that the 80 percent content shared on the internet is unconfirmed while MQM’s Abdul Waseem lauded Lanjar for steps to stem the violence from spreading out.

The house also adopted “The Sindh Civil Servants (Amendment) Act 2024,”. The amended law draws new rules for the government servants from pension to gratuity with introducing contributory pension scheme. The amendments aim at a cut in the spending.

The servants will participate in a Defined Contribution Pension Scheme to receive the amount contributed by them with the contributions by the government to their account in the mentioned fund.

Between 2015 and 2019, the government’s current account spending grew 18 percent

while its expenditures on servants has risen 15 percent. Over the past years, spending went up 30 percent. The Sindh Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (Amendment) law was also passed.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024