Decide Implicated in Blasphemy Entrapment Ring Resigns
Lahore Excessive Court docket constructing in Lahore, Pakistan. (MariyamAftab, Artistic Commons)
LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Every day Worldwide–Morning Star Information) – A excessive court docket decide in Pakistan resigned final week after a media report uncovered his alleged shut ties with a legal gang falsely charging Christians and others with blasphemy, sources stated.
Justice Chaudhry Abdul Aziz of the Lahore Excessive Court docket (LHC) on Thursday (March 6) despatched his resignation to President Asif Ali Zardari citing “private causes” for stepping down and requesting its instant acceptance. He was appointed as an LHC decide in November 2016.
A number of legal professionals, together with Christian attorneys concerned in defending individuals accused of blasphemy, expressed reduction on the decide’s resignation as they shared with Christian Every day Worldwide-Morning Star Information how he pressured them throughout instances.
A Muslim lawyer stated on situation of anonymity stated that simply days earlier than the controversial decide despatched his resignation, Aziz had issued a keep order in opposition to any doable hostile motion based mostly on a report of the Nationwide Fee for Human Rights (NCHR) on blasphemy instances.
Sajid Iqbal Lashari, an office-bearer of the Tahaffuz-i-Khatam-i-Nabuwwat Discussion board (Motion for Safety of Finality of Prophethood) had challenged the NCHR report in Aziz’s court docket. The report identified the shortage of due course of in blasphemy instances, together with vital procedural violations at a number of levels.
It beneficial formation of a Joint Investigation Staff (JIT) by the Ministry of Human Rights comprising officers from the Particular Department of the Police, Intelligence Bureau, Ministries of Regulation, Inside, Federal Investigation Company (FIA), and different related departments to cope with the blasphemy instances. The NCHR report referred to as for stern disciplinary proceedings in opposition to the FIA officers concerned in unlawful arrests or soliciting bribes whereas noting the obvious leniency of the FIA in the direction of the personal entities and particular person complainants behind a number of blasphemy instances.
“I feel that Aziz was compelled to step down as a result of mounting worldwide stress on the nation’s civil-military institution to take measures in opposition to the blatant violations of human rights in Pakistan, significantly the steep rise in false blasphemy instances within the final couple of years,” the nameless Muslim lawyer informed Christian Every day Worldwide-Morning Star Information.
The decide’s alleged hyperlink with the “blasphemy enterprise gang” was revealed in an investigative report by Reality Focus, a web site banned by authorities in Pakistan. Based on the report, Aziz had a protracted historical past of blasphemy activism with lawyer Rao Abdul Rahim, alleged mastermind of the “blasphemy enterprise group.”
The 2 legal professionals had been concerned in fabricating a blasphemy case in opposition to 11-year-old Rimsha Masih, a Christian lady from Islamabad, in August 2012, in response to Reality Focus. Even supposing a judicial inquiry proved the case in opposition to Rimsha was fully false, Aziz was appointed as a excessive court docket decide inside 4 years, the report added.
The Reality Focus report asserted that many blasphemy-related instances had been assigned to Aziz within the Lahore Excessive Court docket. Citing a blasphemy case of a Muslim suspect, Ahmed Satti, the report said that Aziz unnecessarily held the bail rejection order for 4 months earlier than lastly rejecting Satti’s bail. Ultimately the Supreme Court docket dominated on the identical case that no materials had been introduced to hyperlink the petitioner to the alleged offenses and granted him bail.
In April 2023, Justice Babar Sattar of the Islamabad Excessive Court docket (IHC) famous the malicious and suspicious actions within the Cybercrime Wing of the FIA and ordered it to stop work on the instances falling underneath the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and focus solely on issues associated to digital crimes, in response to the report.
“As a substitute of difficult this order within the IHC or taking it to the Supreme Court docket, the blasphemy enterprise gang as soon as once more introduced the matter earlier than Justice Aziz who, as anticipated, directed the FIA to renew work on PPC instances, successfully bypassing the judgment of the IHC with out offering any clear rationale,” it added.
The report went on to disclose that when Islamabad police had been nearing the conclusion of their investigation in opposition to lawyer Rahim within the homicide case of falsely accused Abdullah Shah, Rahim filed a petition earlier than Aziz complaining that the FIA – which had already been working carefully with him – was not correctly investigating blasphemy instances. Rahim requested that applicable actions be taken by the FIA.
“In response, Justice Aziz ordered the creation of anti-blasphemy cells within the FIA throughout the nation,” the report famous. “The proceedings of this case by Justice Aziz was clearly meant to offer a media hype to Rao Abdul Raheem and to pressurize Islamabad Police officers.”
Christian lawyer Aneeqa Maria recalled a blasphemy case wherein her crew had filed an utility for grant of post-arrest bail to 2 Christians, Sunny Waqas and his cousin Noman Masih, who had been booked by the Bahawalpur police and the Bahawalnagar police in two blasphemy instances associated to the identical incident.
“Justice Aziz was serving within the Bahawalpur Bench of the Lahore Excessive Court docket, and the bail petition was mounted in his court docket,” Maria informed Christian Every day Worldwide-Morning Star Information. “As a substitute of judging the grounds for bail, Aziz pressured the police so as to add Part 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act within the case and examine the matter afresh. It’s good that such a religiously prejudiced decide just isn’t a part of the bench now.”
One other Christian lawyer, Lazar Allah Rakha, stated that he had filed an enchantment in opposition to the demise sentence given to 2 Muslim blasphemy suspects, Muhammad Riaz and Ejaz Ahmed, which was heard by a two-judge bench together with Aziz.
“Simply when the opposite decide was about to announce the acquittal order for the 2 convicts, Aziz recused himself from the bench to forestall his colleague from acquitting the appellants,” Rakha informed Christian Every day Worldwide-Morning Star Information.
The lawyer, who together with Maria additionally represented Sunny Waqas and Noman Masih, stated that in a listening to of the bail petitions, Aziz misplaced his mood and accused him of defending the blasphemy suspects “simply to make some cash.”
“The decide’s harsh remarks turned the court docket’s surroundings very hostile and provoked some emotional legal professionals to encompass me,” Rakha stated. “He repeatedly pressurized the investigations superintendent of police to conduct a contemporary investigation who finally ready a brand new challan [charge sheet] and added the part associated to terrorism within the instances.”
Pakistan ranked eighth on Open Doorways’ 2025 World Watch Listing of essentially the most troublesome locations to be a Christian.
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