Pakistan: Whether section 298 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) refers to any offence under religious law or Shari'a and, if so, the penalty under religious law or Shari'a
Section 298 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) states:
298. Whoever, with the deliberate intention of wounding the religious feelings of any person, utters any word or makes any sound in the hearing of that person or makes any gesture in the sight of that person or places any object in the sight of that person, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both.
298-A. Whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by visible representation, or by any imputation, innuendo or insinuation, directly or indirectly, defiles the sacred name of any wife (Ummul-Mumudeen), or members of the family (Ahle-bait) of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him), or any of the righteous Caliphs (Khulafa Raashideen) or companions (Sahaaba) of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both.
298- B. (1) Any person of the Quadiani group or the Lahori group (who call themselves 'Ahmadis' or by any other name) who by words, either spoken or written, or by visible representation,
(a) refers to, or addresses, any person, other than a Caliph or companion of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), as 'Ameer-ul-Mumineen,' 'Khalifa-tul-Mumnineen', Khalifa-tul-Muslimeen, 'Sahaabi' or 'Razi Allah Anho';
(b) refers to, or addresses, any person, other than a wife of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), as 'Ummul-Mumineen';
(c) refers to, or addresses any person, other than a member of the family (Ahle-bait) of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), as Ahle-bait; or
(d) refers to, or names, or calls, his place of worship as 'Masjid':
shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, and shall also be liable to fine.
(2) Any person of the Quadiani group or Lahori group (who call themselves 'Ahmadis' or by any other name) who by words, either spoken or written, or by visible representation, refers to the mode or form of call to prayers followed by his faith as 'Azan', or recites Azan as used by the Muslims, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, and shall also be liable to fine.
298-C. Any person of the Quadiani group or the Lahori group (who call themselves 'Ahmadis' or by any other name), who, directly or indirectly, poses himself as a Muslim, or calls, or refers to, his faith as Islam, or preaches or propagates his faith, or invites others to accept his faith, by words, either spoken or written, or by visible representations, or in any manner whatsoever outrages the religious feelings of Muslims, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description of a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine.
Referring to the text of section 298 of the PPC, a professor of law at Harvard University who specializes in Islamic law stated that, to his understanding, there are other penal provisions in Pakistan which are meant to be declarative of Shari'a which carry a much more severe punishment (15 Jan. 2002). According to the professor these provisions purport to enact the old Shari'a form of the crime of blasphemy ( insult to the Prophet, the Qur'an, and other holy personages ( and allow for the death penalty (ibid.).
The professor went on to state that "this reflects one form at least of the Shari'a crime of sabb al-nabi or insult to the Prophet" and, while in the "usual circumstances rarely enforced," often carries a death penalty with no possibility of repentance for anyone who was proved to have either spoken words or carried out acts insulting to God, the Prophet, his family, or the angels (ibid.).
The professor further stated that, "as enacted into a statute, this law has wreaked havoc in Pakistan because the usual checks on its extreme consequences in old Islamic states do not exist in the modern context, and because the law is seen by some as government license for popular or mob violence against any persons alleged to have insulted Islam" (ibid.).
According to the professor, the offences as described in section 298 "are not Shari'a penalties per se, taken in any literal way from old books" (ibid.). The professor concluded that "Pakistani judges do not apply the Shari'a directly except insofar as they may refer to it in guiding their interpretation of the laws and insofar as certain higher courts have the power to test the conformity of statutes with Shari'a principles and to declare them unconstitutional in the event they fail that test" (ibid.).
For a description of the use of section 298 and section 295 of the PPC, which compose Pakistan's laws on blasphemy, please refer to Amnesty International's May 2001 publication entitled "Pakistan: Insufficient Protection of Religious Minorities" available at <http://web.amnesty.org/ai.nsf/Index/ASA330082001?OpenDocument&of=COUNTRIES%5CPAKISTAN>.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Pakistan Penal Code (Act No. XLV of 1860). 1997. Lahore: PLD Publishers, p. 102-103.
Professor of Law, Islamic Legal Studies Program, Harvard University, Cambridge. 15 January 2001. Correspondence.
Additional Sources Consulted
IRB databases
LEXIS/NEXIS
Oral sources:
Unsuccessful attempts to contact several academic sources
Internet sites including :
BBC
Dawn
Frontier Post
Human Rights Commission of Pakistan
International Christian Concern
News International
Pakistan Daily
Pakistan News Service
World News Connection
Search engines:
Lycos
Google