Scottish Catholic Observer

Protests have taken place across the UK, including in Scotland, against the arrest of an 11-year-old Christian girl in Pakistan, who was allegedly framed for blasphemy.

It is alleged that Rimsha Masih—who has Down’s syndrome and has been in custody since her arrest last month—burned pages from the Qu’ran.

On Saturday, however, a Pakistani cleric was remanded in custody accused of planting pages of the Qu’ran among the burnt pages in Rimsha’s bag. Prosecutors now say that Imam Khalid Chishti (right main) will himself face charges of blasphemy.

The case has sparked international condemnation and anger and many Muslim leaders have already called for Rimsha’s release.

Protests

Last Friday, protests took place outside the Pakistani Consulate in Glasgow with Scottish Muslims and Christians gathering to demand Rimsha be released.

Saleem Mall, from the Scottish Asian Fellowship, expressed the feelings of those present at the protest.

“Even the politician Imran Khan said that it is against the law to put an 11-year-old girl in prison, so we want her release as soon as possible,” he said.

Shortly after Rimsha was taken into custody, her community of around 1000 Christians who lived in the outskirts of Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, were forced to flee.

Wilson Chowdry, from the British Pakistani Christian Association, spoke of the plight of his fellow Christians in that part of Pakistan.

“Our city is besieged,” he said. “The residents of that city have fled to a forest, they are building homes from wood cut down from trees, they are practising their church services in a makeshift church.

“Their land has been looted and their property has been looted, they have lost.”

‘Daughter of the nation’

Earlier this week, one of Pakistan’s most senior Islamic clerics hailed Rimsha (above inset) as a ‘daughter of the nation’ and also vowed to guarantee her safety if she is eventually released from prison.

Hafiz Mohammed Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi, chairman of the All Pakistan Ulema Council, demanded all the organs of the Pakistani state come together to investigate the circumstances surrounding the arrest of Rimsha last month.

He also spoke out against Khalid Chishti for his actions in tampering with evidence in order to convict Rimsha.

“Our heads are bowed in shame for what Chishti did,” Mr Ashrafi said.

He also added that Mr Chishti was merely the front man for other individuals ‘behind the scene’ who wanted to stoke local antagonism against the Christian minority in the area in order to force them to flee.

“I have known for the last three months that some people in this area wanted the Christian community to leave so they could build a madrasa there,” he said.

Release

As the SCO went to press, a bail hearing for Rimsha had been delayed until later in the week.

Mr Ashrafi said he had been moved to speak out after reading reports that Rimsha had Down’s syndrome, a condition that also affects his 15-year-old son. He said the Ulema Council would guarantee Rimsha’s security from vigilantes or extremists if she was released.

However, Mr Ashrafi said there was no need to change or repeal Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy law—despite campaign groups claiming it is wide open to abuse and allows people to be sentenced to life imprisonment on the basis of threadbare evidence that is often never challenged in court.

“There is no problem with the law—only the implementation of the law is the problem,” he said.

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