Islamabad, Apr. 5 (ANI): The Senate Standing Committee on National Harmony, while discussing the Badami Bagh incident in Lahore, has recommended stern punishment for people involved in making false blasphemy accusations.
Earlier in March, a mob of over 3000 Muslims stormed the Christian colony in Lahore, and ransacked and burnt down over 100 houses after a Christian man was accused of committing blasphemy against Prophet Mohammed.
Mir Mohammad Ali Rind, who presided over the meeting, said the burning of properties in Badami Bagh was a tragic incident, which portrayed a wrong image of Pakistan all over the world. He said immediate steps should be taken to avoid such kind of incidents in future, reports The Dawn.
Kamran Michael, a member of the committee, said there are many as 100 Christians and a few hundred Muslims in jails at present, because of their involvement in cases of blasphemy, but not a single one has been convicted. He said there should be equal punishment for any person who makes false blasphemy accusations.
Members of the committee agreed with the proposal and decided to recommend legislation for avoiding misuse or abuse of blasphemy law.
The deputy commissioner of Lahore briefed the committee said the Badami Bagh incident happened because of the mismanagement of police. He said police officers were not expecting that sort of reaction by the public against the alleged blasphemy by suspect Sawan Masih who was in police custody at the time of incident.
He blamed two trader groups - Aman and Etihad - for the incident, saying members of Aman group started torching the houses in the Joseph Colony. (ANI)
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