Pak top court corrects itself to expunge parts of judgement in case involving Ahmadiyya man

Islamabad, Aug 22 (PTI) Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Thursday moved to calm inflamed religious sentiments by deleting controversial parts of a judgment in a case involving an Ahmadiyya minority man.

A three-member bench led by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa decided to expunge content from its earlier ruling which talked about the right of the Ahmadiyya community to preach their religion.

The court also removed paragraphs from its earlier decision mentioning the banned book of Ahmadiyya and their proselytisation activities.

A two-judge bench, led by Isa, on February 6 overturned the conviction of Mubarak Sani, who was accused of an offence in 2019 under the Punjab Holy Quran (Printing and Recording) (Amendment) Act.

The verdict resulted in a malicious campaign against the chief justice, forcing the top court to issue a clarification, which also could not satisfy the religious right.

The Punjab government challenged the judgment and asked the court to modify the order.

The court, accepting the review pleas by the Punjab government and other individuals, on July 24 declared that the right to profess religion and religious freedom, as ensured by the Constitution, was subject to law, morality, and public order.

But the religious bodies were still not satisfied and the Council of Islamic Ideology earlier this month expressed its reservations over the second judgment and hoped the court “will soon review its decision”.

Various groups, including religio-political parties, also voiced their objections by carrying out rallies.

The matter has come under discussion in the National Assembly, with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly passing a unanimous resolution to express concern over the verdict.

Subsequently, on August 17, the Punjab government filed an application seeking corrections that some clerics deemed were needed in the court’s July 24 ruling.

A three-member bench led by Qazi Isa took up the petition in the presence of several religious scholars, including Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, scholar Mufti Sher Muhammad, Sahibzada Muhammad Zubair of the Milli Yakjehti Council, and Jamaat-e-Islami’s Fareed Paracha.

After hearing the scholars and lawyers, the court decided to expunge paragraph 42 which talked about the right of the Ahmadiyya community to preach their religion. The court also removed paragraphs 7 and 49-C from the decision, which mentioned the banned book of Ahmadiyya and their proselytisation activities.

The court also ordered that the expunged paragraphs not be used as judicial precedents in the future.

The chief justice during the hearing also confessed that he was not inflammable. “I am not above any mistake,” he acknowledged.

Later, the religious leaders welcomed the orders by the chief justice and Maulana Fazl announced to observe Friday as the Day of Thanks as the judgment would serve to strengthen Islamic values.

The deletion of controversial paras showed that religious groups were powerful enough to even coerce the top courts.

Earlier, the government had taken strict security measures and sealed the Red Zone where the Supreme Court and other key offices are located, as there was fear of protests by religious groups.

Ahmadiyya were declared as non-Muslims by the parliament of Pakistan in 1974. PTI SH PY PY PY