South Asia for Human Rights (SAHR) calls for the Government of Pakistan to repeal its laws relating to blasphemy which have, since amendments, been misused by violent religious extremists to commit grave acts of violence against others and to spread religious intolerance. The blasphemy law has also been used to settle personal scores. The urgent need for law reform has been highlighted by the recent deadly attacks on a Christian community in Punjab, Pakistan, whose members were accused of desecrating the Qur’an. Members of a banned Islamist group, Sipah-i-Sahaba, took the law into their own hands and it is reported that policemen present did not try to control the mob and protect the citizens.
I went to Amritsar on August 12 2009 and returned on August 15. This three day visit was to participate in several events related to peace between India and Pakistan. The main event was organized on 14th evening and ended after midnight of 14th and 15th of August, which are Independence Days of Pakistan and India respectively
On the 13th there was a seminar on Indo Pak Relations and Role of Civil Society organized by several Amritsar based organizations like The Folklore Research Academy, Hind Pak Dosti Manch, Punarjyot and Punjab Jagriti Manch. The main speakers were committed politicians from Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir, eminent journalists like Kuldip Nayar, Satnam Manik, poets like Kishwar Nahid from Pakistan, Mahesh Bhatt a well known film maker, dedicated to justice and peace, academics and activists. I was one of the speakers in this seminar and I spoke on behalf of Sangat, SAHR and Peace Women across the Globe. The seminar was attended by about 200 people.