A campaign vilifying slain human rights activist Rashid Rehman has been launched in the city.
For three days, several people have been distributing pamphlets in front of lawyers’ chambers and newspaper offices justifying Rehman’s murder over ‘blasphemy’ and threatening any lawyer who takes up defence of a blasphemy accused with death. The pamphlets say that anyone who defended blasphemy accused Junaid Hafeez would face similar consequences. “Any lawyer who takes up his case will be responsible for their own deaths and the deaths of their family members,” it says.
Several people close to Rehman, and clerics, journalists and rights activists who have condemned the murder say they have been told to retract their statements or face reprisals. Human rights activist Amir Hussain told The Express Tribune that he had received death threats for writing a column condemning Rehman’s murder.
A senior lawyer who led the funeral prayers for Rehman received a phone call from a man who said that his act [of leading his funeral prayers] also amounted to blasphemy and had resulted in the dissolution of his marriage.
A cleric who described Rehman as a martyr at the soyem has received a call telling him to retract his words or face dire consequences.
Rehman’s family have also been threatened and told to withdraw the murder complaint.
Police are yet to reveal the names of the people Rehman had identified as those who had threatened him.
Shabana Arif, a human rights activist, said, “We will continue our struggle and will help the innocent.
The death threats and terror will not be tolerated. We stand with Rehman’s family.”
Published in The Express Tribune, May 11th, 2014.