Pakistani Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has voiced his support for the country’s controversial Blasphemy laws. He made the comments while speaking at the ‘KhatmeNabuwat’ conference in Golra Sharif on Saturday.
Speaking at the conference, Dar said:
There would be no change in the blasphemy laws, as Pakistan came into being in the name of Allah and Prophet Muhammad.Pakistan was the only country whose foundation was laid on Islam and Kalma Tayyaba.
There would be also no change in KhamteNabuwat laws, We are ready to sacrifice thousands of lives for the protection of these laws and we will make Pakistan a sanctuary of Islam.
He further said:
Pakistan is an atomic power for a reason, and the reason is we have to lead the Islamic world, we have to stop Christians and Jews from speaking against Islam. So there is no way we can compromise on Blasphemy Laws.
The minister also thanked the custodians of the Golra shrine for organizing the conference. The annual conference is directed against the minority Ahmadi Muslims, The Ahmadis are considered heretics by mainstream Muslims and were declared “non-Muslim” under the Pakistani laws in 1974. Since then they have been the victims of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws.
The laws are also often used against the country’s Christian minority to settle personal scores or to take over property. Critics say police and courts are under pressure from religious groups and lawyers who are dedicated to protecting the blasphemy laws through harsh punishments.
In 2011, the then Punjab Governor Salman Taseer was gunned down by his own police security guard after he demanded that the country’s controversial blasphemy laws be reformed.
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