News Source: Dawn
Writer: Javed Hussain
Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) secretary general Senator Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri on Wednesday opposed any amendments to the blasphemy law, which was under discussion in a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee for Information and Technology.
As a discussion on amendments to curtail the misuse of the law started, Maulana Haidri said: “Why is the blasphemy law alone the topic of so much discussion?”
To this, he was told that the law was being reviewed as it was being widely misused.
The Maulana’s retort was that, “other laws are also being misused in the country, but no one seems to mind that and thus we will not let this law be changed either.”
He also dropped a threat, saying that the blasphemy law had previously “taken a lot of lives, and if anyone tries to touch it, they will be the ones held responsible for any damage caused.”
He also said that if any step to amend the law is taken, his party will show “complete resistance” and even block it in the National Assembly and Senate.
“We will tell the people the complete truth behind this,” he said before marching out of the meeting along with Senator Fida Muhammad Khan.
As a result of the walkout, the committee’s meeting was adjourned indefinitely.
