The Economist (2022-02-26) Riva

40 Asia The Economist February 26th 2022

BlasphemyinPakistan

No mercy

T

anveerahmed,afraidtoleavethe

near-darknessofhishome,sitsonhis

bedfretting.Heisacivilengineer;hiswife

wastheheadmistressofaprivateschool.

Theyenjoyedacomfortablelifetogether.

Anaccusationofblasphemylevelledathis

wifesweptallthataway,andhenowcow-

ersinadilapidatedcoupleofroomsina

suburbofLahore.Hiswife,SalmaTanveer,

isondeathrow.Hehaslosthishomeand

jobandworriesthatamobcouldkillhimat

anytime.“Mywifeisaverygoodwoman,

shedidnotdeservethis,”hesays.“Weare

afraid,wecan’tgoanywhere.”

Thehigh-profilecaseofAsiaBibi,a

Christianfarmhandsentencedtodeathin

lowercourtsforblasphemyafterbeingac-

cusedbytheMuslimssheworkedwithof

insultingtheProphetMuhammad,ended

in 2018 withacquittal intheSupreme

Court. But such accusations still ruin

scoresoflivesinPakistaneachyear.In-

deedin2020,themostrecentyearfor

whichAmerica’sStateDepartmenthastal-

liedfigures, Pakistanicourtsheard 199

blasphemycases,arecordnumber.

MsTanveerwassentencedtohangin

Septemberafterajudgeruledshehaddis-

tributedwritingsdenyingMohammadwas

thefinalprophetofIslam.Herhusband

saysshewassufferingfromlong-standing

mentalillness,andthatthecasewaspur-

suedbyalocalclericseekingrevengeafter

aquarrelwiththecouple.(MsAsia’scase

also followeda row,with otherfarm-

hands.)Medical testimonyon MsTan-

veer’smental-healthproblemsdelayedher

trialforyears.Herdeathsentencehasstill

tobeconfirmed.Infact,nodeathsentence

forblasphemyhaseverbeencarriedoutin

Pakistan.Butacquittalsgeneratesomuch

publicangerthatjudgesprefertopasscas-

estoappealscourts. MsTanveerislikelyto

spendyearsmorelanguishingbehindbars

ashercasecrawlsthroughthesystemto

theSupremeCourt.

AccordingtotheState Department’s

survey,ofthepeoplefacingblasphemyac-

cusationsin2020, 35 weresentencedto

death.Oftheaccused,70%wereShiaMus-

lims,20%fromthepersecutedAhmadi

sect(whoareconsiderednon-Muslimsun-

derPakistanilaw),5%Sunnisandtherest

HindusorChristians.

Tehreek-e-LabbaikPakistan(tlp),an

extremistparty,hasamassedenormous

political clout, inpartby resistingat-

temptstoreformtheblasphemylaws.It

has been emboldened by confrontations

with the government of Imran Khan, the

prime minister, all of which have ended

with the government’s climbing down.

The Centre for Research and Security

Studies,athink-tankin Islamabad, has

countednearly1,300accusations of blas-

phemymadebetween2011 and 2021. Cam-

paignerstryingtohelpthose accused say

thesuccessofthetlphas meant that mak-

ingablasphemyaccusation and whipping

upill-educatedfollowers can be a shrewd

careermoveforanambitious cleric.

Thestreamofaccusations shows no

signofdryingup.OnJanuary 19th a 26-

year-oldwomanwassentenced to hang for

allegedlysendingblasphemous messages

overWhatsAppandFacebook. The carica-

turesAneeqaAteeqforwarded were judged

tobeadeliberateinsultto Islam. Ms Ateeq,

whoisMuslimherself,says she had been

luredinto conversation with the com-

plainant,whomadeadvances to her and

thenwantedrevengeafter she spurned

them.Inthedaysafter her conviction,

competing Twitter hashtags lobbied to

saveherandtohangher.

Earlierthismonthamob in rural Pun-

jablynchedamentallyill man after accus-

inghimofburningpages of the Koran. A

SriLankanfactorymanager in the industri-

alcityofSialkotwasmurdered in Decem-

berafterworkersaccused him of tearing

downpostersbearingholy verses.

SalmaTanveerisbeing represented by

Saiful-Malook,thelawyer who also de-

fendedMsAsia.Thatearlier case brought

himinternationalacclaim and even fund-

ing.Hepredictshewill receive no such

supportforthisone.Hesays: “If the accu-

sationisagainstaChristian, the whole

Christianworldisreadyto stand, to fund a

lawyer,toraiseamedia campaign and

makediplomaticeffortswith the govern-

ment.Butwhenitcomes to a Muslim, they

arenotinterested.”

LAHORE

A cruel law devastates scores of lives

each year, most of them Muslim

Blasphemers beware

DiplomacyinSouth-EastAsia

The chastened

cowboy

H

un senlikes doing things his own

way. Cambodia’s prime minister has

ruled the country for 37 years and count-

ing. Satisfied with his own performance,

he banned the main opposition party in

2017. In January he flew to Myanmar, decid-
      ing that he was the man to bring peace to
      that country, racked by war since the army
      seized power last year.
      This did not go down well in the region.
      asean,the club of South-East Asian coun-
      tries to which Cambodia belongs, has a
      hallowed tradition of consensus, and last
      year decided to shun Myanmar’s junta. In
      2022 Cambodia holds the bloc’s chair,
      which rotates annually. So the timing of Mr
      Hun Sen’s visit was unfortunate. It might
      have helped create the impression that the
      bloc considered the junta legitimate, re-
      marked Malaysia’s foreign minister. In ex-
      change, the generals offered no real con-
      cessions to Mr Hun Sen.
      So the “cowboy” diplomat, as he has
      been dubbed, has had a rough ride, recall-
      ing the last time his country wielded
      asean’s gavel. In 2012 Cambodia scandal-
      ised the region by appearing to act as a
      proxy for China, blocking the release of a
      joint aseanstatement on the tussle be-
      tween China and several South-East Asian
      countries over competing claims in the
      South China Sea. Cambodia began to be
      seen as a Chinese client-state. In 2020 Bila-
      hari Kausikan, once Singapore’s most se-
      nior diplomat, suggested that aseanmight
      one day be forced to expel Cambodia be-
      cause it had fallen into China’s orbit.

KUALA LUMPUR

Will humiliation in Myanmar help

Cambodia distance itself from China?