Dear Friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that two Christian sisters, with an 18-month baby were taken hostage by the Sarai Alamgir police, Punjab, for the production of their brother, Mr. Nadeem James, who has eloped with a Muslim girl, the daughter of a local Muslim cleric. A Muslim mob attacked the police station and insisted that the police illegally file a case of blasphemy against James.
The mob has threatened to burn down the entire Christian population of Father’s colony unless Nadeem James produces himself at the police station. Similar threats have been made to the churches in surrounding districts.
CASE NARRATIVE:
According to the information received, Mr. Yasir Basheer, a Muslim man, and Mr. Nadeem James, a young Christian, were close friends. After Nadeem eloped with a Muslim girl- the daughter of a local religious cleric- Yasir bore a grudge against Nadeem. On July 10, Yasir complained to the police that he has received a WhatsApp message from Nadeem, a poem with allegedly blasphemous content.
Yasir also complained to his religious organization, Ahle Sunnat, and the Dawate Islami organization, which immediately called for the burning of Christian homes in Father Colony on the mosque loudspeakers, if Nadeem James does not produce himself at the Police Station. Some 50-60 local Muslim leaders then embarked on the Sarai Alamgir police station, Gujrat, Punjab province, and forced the station house officer (SHO) Sana Ahmed Dhilon, to file a criminal case of blasphemy against James. The local police registered an illegal FIR under blasphemy laws.
Under the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), the SHO does not have legal authority to file a blasphemy case. Section 156-A of the PPC says that no officer below the rank of superintendent of police (SP) should investigate the offence against any person alleged to have been committed by him under section 295- C of the Pakistan Penal Code, commonly known as the Blasphemy Law.
To pacify the charged mob, the police arrested Nadeem James’ two sisters, Najma Faryad and Samreen Shahbaz, along with one of the sister’s 18-month baby, as hostages, so that James and the Muslim girl would be pressured to produce themselves before the police. When a Christian welfare organization inquired about the girls, they were told by the police that the girls are held in protective custody.
After media backlash, a provincial minister on minorities, who is himself a Christian, went to the police station and obtained the release of the two sisters and 18-month old baby, who were in very poor condition as they had not been given food and were kept in very dirty conditions. The minister immediately and quietly whisked away the sisters so that the media cannot talk with them. After the minister left the police station, James’ brother was taken hostage by the police.
The City police had also illegally detained Amir James, the brother of the pastor who had baptized the Muslim girl before she married Nadeem. The pastor had left his home fearing for his safety.
Nadeem did not commit any crime; he has only exercised his right to marry of his own free will. He is facing this situation because he married a woman from a Muslim family. The state has miserably failed at its constitutional duty to provide security to its Christian population. Nadeem has been forced to flee and his sisters are arrested for no fault of theirs. This incident is neither the first nor the last to have afflicted the beleaguered Christian communities who have been suffering the wrath of draconian blasphemy laws. The police meanwhile, instead of doing their job of protecting the people and ensuring the rule of law, are involved in taking the sides of the perpetrators and committing illegal acts. Apart from anything else, taking hostages is not the act of any responsible policing institution.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
The religious persecution of Christians is rampant in Punjab Province; Christians have suffered immense injustice at the hands of the local influential people who have been exerting their political and social clout to subjugate the community.
Pakistan stands as one of the most glaring examples of religious intolerance in the world. The non-Muslims in the country are extremely downtrodden and marginalized and their communities have to face atrocities and brutality at every level; their faith being their only crime. They face an ever increasing religious intolerance against them which successive governments have done nothing to halt.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the authorities listed below expressing your concern about the illegal acts of the police for taking a family hostage in order to produce an accused. Moreover, the allegations of blasphemy should be investigated and dismissed, and the lives of Nadeem’s family and community should be safeguarded.
The Punjab government must take stern action against the SHO of Sarai Alamgir police station for illegally filing the case of Blasphemy to appease the Muslim fundamentalist groups.
The AHRC will also write a separate letter to the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief
calling on his offices to intervene in this regard.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear ___________,
PAKISTAN: Mob threatens to burn Christian homes while a Christian family is taken hostage by police
Name of victims:
1. Mr Nadeem James, resident of Father’s colony, Sarai-Alamgir, District Gujrat, Punjab Province
2. Najma Feryad, sister of Nadeem James
3. Samreen Shabaz, sister of Nadeem James
4. Amir James
Names of alleged perpetrators:
Inspector Sana Ullah Dhilon, SHO , Sarai Alamgir Police Station, Gujrat district, Punjab
Yasir Bashir, resident of Father’s colony Sarai-Alamgir a Town of District Gujrat Punjab Province
Date of incident: 10 July 2016
Place of incident: Father’s colony, Sarai-Alamgir, Gujrat, Punjab Province
I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding that two Christian sisters, with an 18-month baby, were taken hostage by the Sarai Alamgir police, Punjab, for the production their brother, Mr. Nadeem James. The crime of Nadeem is only that he eloped with a Muslim girl, a daughter of a local Muslim cleric. Only after media outcry and the intervention of a provincial minister, did the police release the girls, and instead kept another brother as hostage to pressurize James to produce himself before the police station.
After learning that a Christian has eloped with a Muslim girl, a Muslim mob attacked the police station and insisted that the police illegally file a case of blasphemy against James. The mob has further threatened to burn down the entire Christian population of Father’s colony if Nadeem does not produce himself at the police station.
Mr. Yasir Basheer, a Muslim man, and Mr. Nadeem James, a young Christian, were close friends. After Nadeem eloped with a Muslim girl- the daughter of a local religious cleric- Yasir bore a grudge against Nadeem. On July 10, Yasir complained to the police that he has received a WhatsApp message from Nadeem, a poem with allegedly blasphemous content.
Yasir also complained to his religious organization, Ahle Sunnat, and the Dawate Islami organization, which immediately called for the burning of Christian homes in Father Colony on the mosque loudspeakers, if Nadeem James does not produce himself at the Police Station. Some 50-60 local Muslim leaders then embarked on the Sarai Alamgir police station, Gujrat, Punjab province, and forced the station house officer (SHO) Sana Ahmed Dhilon, to file a criminal case of blasphemy against James. The local police registered an illegal FIR under blasphemy laws.
Under the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), the SHO does not have legal authority to file a blasphemy case. Section 156-A of the PPC says that no officer below the rank of superintendent of police (SP) should investigate the offence against any person alleged to have been committed by him under section 295- C of the Pakistan Penal Code, commonly known as the Blasphemy Law.
To pacify the charged mob, the police arrested Nadeem James’ two sisters, Najma Faryad and Samreen Shahbaz, along with one of the sister’s 18-month baby, as hostages, so that James and the Muslim girl would be pressured to produce themselves before the police. When a Christian welfare organization inquired about the girls, they were told by the police that the girls are held in protective custody.
After media backlash, a provincial minister on minorities, who is himself a Christian, went to the police station and obtained the release of the two sisters and 18-month old baby, who were in very poor condition as they had not been given food and were kept in very dirty conditions. The minister immediately and quietly whisked away the sisters so that the media cannot talk with them. After the minister left the police station, James’ brother was taken hostage by the police.
The City police had also illegally detained Amir James, the brother of the pastor who had baptized the Muslim girl before she married Nadeem. The pastor had left his home fearing for his safety.
Nadeem did not commit any crime; he has only exercised his right to marry of his own free will. He is facing this situation because he married a woman from a Muslim family. The state has miserably failed at its constitutional duty to provide security to its Christian population. Nadeem has been forced to flee and his sisters are arrested for no fault of theirs. This incident is neither the first nor the last to have afflicted the beleaguered Christian communities who have been suffering the wrath of draconian blasphemy laws. The police meanwhile, instead of doing their job of protecting the people and ensuring the rule of law, are involved in taking the sides of the perpetrators and committing illegal acts. Apart from anything else, taking hostages is not the act of any responsible policing institution.
The situation is extremely tense, with many Christian families fleeing for safety. Many churches around Gujrat and surrounding districts have been receiving threats to produce Nadeem James otherwise they will be burnt.
I urge your good offices to take prompt action to provide security to these Christian communities and Nadeem’s family. Furthermore, it is imperative that action is taken against the police officers for filing an illegal FIR and taking Nadeem’s family hostage.
Yours Sincerely,
……………….
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1.Mr. Mian Nawaz Sharif
Prime Minister
Prime Minister House
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 922 1596
Tel: +92 51 920 6111
E-mail: pspm@pmsectt.gov.pk, Email: info@pmo.gov.pk
2. Mr. Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan
Federal Minister for Interior
Ministry of Interior of Pakistan
R Block, Pak Secretariat
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Tel: +92 51 9212026
Fax: +92 51 9202624
Email: interior.complaintcell@gmail.com,
ministry.interior@gmail.com
3. Mr. Zahid Hamid
Federal Minister for Human Rights
Ministry of Human Rights
State Life Building No. 5, Blue Area,
Jinnah Avenue, China Chowk, Islamabad
Fax: +92 51 9204108
Email: contact@molaw.gov.pk
4.Mr. Justice Zaheer Jamali,
Chief Justice of Pakistan
Supreme Court of Pakistan
Constitution Avenue, Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: + 92 51 9213452
E-mail: mail@supremecourt.gov.pk
5.Mr. Rafiq Rajwana
Governor of Punjab
Governor House
Mall Road
Lahore, Punjab
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 42 99203044
Email: governor.sectt@punjab.gov.pk
6. Mr. Chief Justice of Punjab Province
Lahore High Court
Shahra-e-Quaid-e-Azam, Lahore
PAKISTAN
Tel: +92 42 99212951-66
Fax: +92 42 99212279
Email: webmasterlhc@lhc.gov.pk
7. Mr. Shahbaz Sharif
Chief Minister
Government of Punjab
Province’ Chief Minister
Secretariat’ 5-Club Road
GOR-I, Lahore, Punjab
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 42 99205065
Email: cmcomplaintcell@cmpunjab.gov.pk
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)
