Pakistan Imposes Blasphemy Law On 8-Year-Old Hindu Boy, Family Flees Home Fearing Backlash
It is alleged that the child went to a Madrasa library and urinated on the carpet where many sacred books were kept. The local Muslim clerics enraged at the boy's action asked the police to act.
New Delhi: An eight-year-old boy, after whose action triggered the ransacking of a Hindu temple in Pakistan's Punjab province, has been charged with Blasphemy Law. This is the first time in the history of Pakistan an eight-year-old has been booked under the contentious blasphemy laws of the country.
According to a report published in the British news daily The Guardian, Pakistan police have taken the child into protective custody. The child could be sentenced to death under blasphemy charges.
It is alleged that the child went to a Madrasa library and urinated on the carpet where many sacred books were kept. The local Muslim clerics enraged at the boy's action, pressurised the police to act.
Police took the child into custody but later granted him bail. As soon as the child was released, the hardliners in the local community got agitated and gathered in hundreds, and ransacked a nearby Hindu temple.
The Guardian reports that the child's family is currently in hiding.
"The child has no knowledge of the blasphemy law. He has been falsely accused. He still does not understand what his crime was and why he was imprisoned for a week," the boy's family members informed the British daily.
"We're so scared. We've left our house too. We do not think any concrete and meaningful action will be taken against the culprits or for the protection of the minorities living here," the family told The Guardian.
Pakistan Supreme Court Reprimands
Pakistan's Supreme Court has slammed officials for their failure to protect the temple over the whole issue. Pakistan Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed said on Friday that the temple demolition incident is "shameful for the country" as the police remained mute spectators.
The Chief Justice, surprised at the arrest of the eight-year-old, had asked the police if they were incapable of understanding the mental predicament of such a young child.
Pakistan's parliament on Friday passed a resolution condemning the temple attack. The hearing in the case has been postponed till August 13.
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