False accusation?: School principal booked for blasphemy

Police told that Qazi Iftikhar Ahmad Raza, along with three other clerics as witnesses, filed a case against Salma, alleging that she had circulated blasphemous papers.

The complainant stated that the woman invited him to her house and made blasphemous statements regarding Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). He said that he was unable to get legal proceedings initiated against her for lack of tangible proof so far but lately the woman distributed photocopies of her own blasphemous writings. He got hold of them and submitted them as proof.

The accused lady, who runs a secondary school, denied the charges, claiming that the complainant had some personal grudge against her.

She told police investigators that she had filed a complaint against the cleric’s wrongful use of the loudspeaker. She had an ongoing dispute with him for the past two years, and because he held a personal grudge against her, the cleric had the local people turned against her.

Salma claimed innocence by saying she had performed seven Umrahs and three Haj pilgrimages, and could never even think of committing such a crime.

Regarding her writings, she said the cleric had been quoting her words totally out of context. Reading the 30-page pamphlet would absolve her of all the false allegations, she added.

Nishtar Town police station officials said Salma had been receiving threats for the past four months and last night a mob of 200 had stormed her house, breaking everything and shattering the windows.

SP Investigations Model town has personally taken the investigation while the woman was sent to jail on a judicial remand. Her family has been moved to an unknown safe place.

Senior police officials reached the spot along with a good-sized contingent and managed to provide security to the woman and her family.

The mob broke all the glass windows of the school.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 4^th, 2013.