PAKISTAN: Human Rights defenders are at risk of attack after being charged with blasphemy 

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that the local administration of the two districts of Punjab province and the owners of kiln factories are using the accusation of committing blasphemy against a human rights organization and its staff for raising their voices against bonded labour. They are also demanding wage increments in accordance with government announced scales. The executive director, two female staffers and one program officer of the NGO are among those who were implicated in the accusation of blasphemy. One of the kiln owners got his to beat the human rights defenders in the premises of court in the presence of local police and amazingly the police filed a case of attempted murder against the victims. The human rights defenders are charged with converting Muslims to Christianity but the president of the Kiln factories owner has claimed on 31 July, that he has converted 54 Christians workers of its factory to Islam and no case of blasphemy has been initiated by the local administration against him for forcefully converting people to Islam.

It is apprehended that local administrations of two districts and kiln owners will instigate the Muslim fundamentalist groups to attack the human rights defenders who are working for the rights of kiln workers.

CASE NARRATIVE:

Insan Dost Association (IDA) is a human rights organization working for the promotion and protection of the rights of bonded labourers and their families. The kiln factory owners with a nexus to the local administration have implicated IDA and workers from kilns in different criminal cases. When they could not come up with suitable charges they accused the officers from IDA in the blasphemy charging them with converting Christian workers to Islam and using abusive language against the last prophet of Islam (peace be upon him) . Those who have been accused of blasphemy are; Mr. Anjum Raza Mattu, Executive Director IDA, Imran Anjum, (a Christian by faith) Program Officer, Miss Shazia Parveen, Secretary IDA and Miss Najma Khalil, assistant program officer. Before the accusation of blasphemy these people with other staff and kiln workers were implicated in the case of attempted murder after they were beaten by the owners of the kiln and their lawyers including their henchmen in the court premises in the presence of police. During this incident one lady worker, Khadija, suffered fractures to two fingers.

The kiln owners and their association of two districts namely, Pakpattan and Sahiwal, are refusing to implement the wage increase of brick makers which were increased in 2011 by the Punjab Wage board with the rate of Rupees 517 for manufacturing 1000 bricks. The local administrations of both the districts, instead of forcing kiln owners to implement the wage board award, are using tactics of intimidation and coercions. The administrations have filed many cases against the staff of IDA and kiln workers. After seeing that again an increment in the wages, which were announced by the Punjab board in June 2012, from Rupees 517 to Rs 665 per 1000 bricks the administrations are using heavy handed methods against the kiln workers and the IDA.

On 8 June, the blasphemy accusation was been filed against the IDA staff members by kiln owner Mr Javed Iqbal on behalf of another kiln owner, Mr Iftikhar Mohar, the president of Kiln owners association, Pakpattan and Sahiwal districts. The complaint was submitted to the Commissioner of Sahiwal Division in Punjab Province, Mr Qazi Ashfaq Ahmed, who has the power to order the police to register a First Information Report (FIR) against the alleged accused. The IDA staff members could be sentenced to life imprisonment or death if they are found guilty of blasphemy. The IDA has been active in recent years in working to protect the rights of brick kiln workers and has had disagreements with kiln owner Iftikhar Mohar. It is reported that Javed Iqbal, the owner of different kiln factories, has also accused IDA of being involved in anti-government activities and called for the registration certificate of IDA to be revoked.

Front Line Defenders, the Ireland based organization, has also issued one appeal against the accusation of blasphemy against the IDA staffers. On different times the owners have physically abused and implicated the workers and IDA staff in different criminal cases.

On 19 November 2011, Mr Muhammad Munir, a member of the IDA, was attacked by men with sticks and bamboos after he led around 200 workers to call on kiln owners to implement the Punjab Wage Board, a notification which fixed the minimum pay for a kiln worker making 1,000 bricks to 517 Pakistan. The attackers were believed to be associated with kiln owners Mr Haji Iqbal, Mr Khalid Chaudhry, and Mr Iftikhar Mohar.

On 7 January 2012, a fabricated rape case was filed against Muhammad Munir and his wife, and on 2 February, he was arrested by the police before being transferred to Sahiwal District Central Jail on 7 February. Munir was accused of raping a woman of 45 years who is bonded with her husband in the factory of Javed Iqbal and she was used at least in two cases of rape by the owner. The police of Tehsil Arifwala, Pakpattan district also implicated and arrested the wife of Munir in rape case without considering how it is possible for a woman to rape another woman.

On 16 May, Muhammad Munir’s wife and four IDA staff were beaten up at Arifwala Tehsil court premises by Iftikhar Mohar and his lawyers while Muhammad Munir was defending himself against the false accusation before the court. Instead of arresting the attackers police on the same date, registered a complaint for attempted murder (FIR 298/12) against human rights defenders Mr Anjum Raza Mattu, Mr Imran Anjum, Ms Khadija Munir, Mr Zeeshan Ali, Mr Rafij Masih, and Ms Bashiran Bibi. On 31 May, Imran Anjum, the program officer of IDA was arrested under this charge and was sent to Sahiwal District Central Jail, Punjab. He was released on bail on 27 June.

On 8 June, Mr. Javed Iqbal and Mr. Iftekhar Mohar, owners of the kiln factories, have filed a case of blasphemy against the above mentioned staff of IDA on the charges of converting Muslims to Christianity. The Commissioner of Sahiwal took the case and started investigations into it and asked the accused persons to be presented on 30 June but again were asked to be there on 9 July. The investigation has been again kept on 27 August before executed district officer (EDO) of the district Sahiwal.

On 31 July, it is reported in the local newspapers of the Punjab that president of Kiln factories owners association, Mr. Iftekhar Mohar, has arranged a big gathering in Qaboola, Pakpattan district where 54 male and female Christians converted to Islam. Mr. Iftekhar announced that by his personal efforts he has converted 54 Christians to Islam. He has yet not been implicated in the case of forced conversion of religion particularly converting the Christian poor workers to Islam who were bonded since decades.

It is apprehended that owners of the kiln factories and local administration will use local Muslim fundamentalist groups against the IDA staff and kiln activists of kiln workers to attack on the IDA offices.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write the letters to the below mentioned authorities calling for providing protection to the staff of Insan Dost Association (IDA), a human rights organization working for the rights of kiln workers who have been made bonded by the owners of the kiln factories. Please urge them to withdraw criminal charges and blasphemy case against the IDA and prosecute the perpetrators for implication the false cases against the victims.

The AHRC writes a separate letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders calling for his intervention into this matter.

To support this appeal, please click here:

 

 

To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER