Pakistan: Ex-security personnel arrested over blasphemy in KP

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa [Pakistan], September 2 (ANI): Amid rising cases of blasphemy in Pakistan, one security personnel was sent to judicial remand in Battagram district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on the charges of making anti-Islamic remarks during an altercation with employees of the district police officer's offices on Friday.
Dawn reported that the former Frontier Constabulary official was sent to the Central Prison in Haripur before police produced him before a magistrate for the accusations on Thursday.
Battagram DPO Tariq Mehmood further told Dawn that the suspect had retired from the FC before joining the proposed China-Pakistan Economic Corridor's security team in the district in 2016-17 and added that the suspect's contractual employment ended in 2020.
As per the DPO, the suspect revisited his offices on Wednesday but, in a fit of rage, resorted to blasphemous utterances when the relevant staff members promised to update him on the matter later.
However, the suspect claimed that he had heated exchanges with the employees of DPO offices but denied committing blasphemy. The suspect was ultimately booked under Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code on the complaint of a senior clerk at his office.
The man also claimed that the suspect was held when he visited the police station to record statements in the case. In contrast, he demanded a fair investigation into the matter, according to Dawn.
The misuse of the draconian blasphemy laws against minorities and even members of the Muslim community to settle personal grudges is rampant in Pakistan. The minorities in Pakistan are constantly being murdered and subjected to inhuman brutalities in the name of blasphemy, conversion to Islam and other sectarian differences.
The blasphemy cases are not new in Pakistan. At least 585 persons were booked on charges of blasphemy in 2021, with the overwhelming majority from Punjab, according to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan citing the police data.
Pakistan inherited the blasphemy laws after Partition in 1947. However, during General Zia-ul Haq's regime between 1980 to 1986, a number of clauses were introduced that included a provision to punish blasphemy against Prophet Muhammed and the penalty for this was death or imprisonment for life.
According to data by the National Commission for Justice and Peace, 776 Muslims, 505 Ahmadis, 229 Christians and 30 Hindus have been booked under the blasphemy law from 1987 to 2018. (ANI)