* . *
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Thursday, October 9, 2025
Earth-News
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    MSG Entertainment Takes Radio City Music Hall Into the Future With Introduction of Sphere Immersive Sound – Business Wire

    MSG Entertainment Transforms Radio City Music Hall with Cutting-Edge Sphere Immersive Sound Experience

    Israel’s Entertainment Industry Is Being Targeted by the Left in Hollywood and the Right at Home – The Wall Street Journal

    Inside the Fierce Clash Shaping Israel’s Entertainment Industry: Hollywood vs. Local Voices

    Offset Is Ready To Finalize Divorce With Cardi B for a Major Reason – Yahoo

    Offset Poised to Finalize Divorce from Cardi B for a Major Reason

    Beyond the Stage: 8 Performing Arts Centers Driving Entertainment and Education – Livability.com

    Beyond the Stage: 8 Performing Arts Centers Transforming Entertainment and Education

    Row K Entertainment Emerges as Major New Hollywood Buyer With Splashy TIFF Shopping Spree – TheWrap

    Row K Entertainment Emerges as Major New Hollywood Buyer With Splashy TIFF Shopping Spree – TheWrap

    Charlie Hunnam Reflects on Playing a Serial Killer in Monster: The Ed Gein Story – Yahoo

    Charlie Hunnam Reveals the Dark Challenges of Playing a Serial Killer in Monster: The Ed Gein Story

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology

    Wisconsin Dairy Leads the Way with Cutting-Edge Technology Systems

    ENERCON and Biome collaborate for wind turbine noise reduction technology – Yahoo Finance

    ENERCON and Biome Join Forces to Revolutionize Wind Turbine Noise Reduction

    US and investors gambling on unproven nuclear technology, warn experts – Financial Times

    US and investors gambling on unproven nuclear technology, warn experts – Financial Times

    Is Light-Speed Analog Computing the Future of Technology? – BIOENGINEER.ORG

    Could Light-Speed Analog Computing Transform the Future of Technology?

    ARM Institute opens technology project call to speed submarine manufacturing – The Robot Report

    ARM Institute Unveils Cutting-Edge Technology Project to Revolutionize Submarine Manufacturing

    Forget Cowbells. Cows Wear High-Tech Collars Now. – The New York Times

    Ditch the Cowbells: Discover the High-Tech Collars Transforming Cattle Care

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    MSG Entertainment Takes Radio City Music Hall Into the Future With Introduction of Sphere Immersive Sound – Business Wire

    MSG Entertainment Transforms Radio City Music Hall with Cutting-Edge Sphere Immersive Sound Experience

    Israel’s Entertainment Industry Is Being Targeted by the Left in Hollywood and the Right at Home – The Wall Street Journal

    Inside the Fierce Clash Shaping Israel’s Entertainment Industry: Hollywood vs. Local Voices

    Offset Is Ready To Finalize Divorce With Cardi B for a Major Reason – Yahoo

    Offset Poised to Finalize Divorce from Cardi B for a Major Reason

    Beyond the Stage: 8 Performing Arts Centers Driving Entertainment and Education – Livability.com

    Beyond the Stage: 8 Performing Arts Centers Transforming Entertainment and Education

    Row K Entertainment Emerges as Major New Hollywood Buyer With Splashy TIFF Shopping Spree – TheWrap

    Row K Entertainment Emerges as Major New Hollywood Buyer With Splashy TIFF Shopping Spree – TheWrap

    Charlie Hunnam Reflects on Playing a Serial Killer in Monster: The Ed Gein Story – Yahoo

    Charlie Hunnam Reveals the Dark Challenges of Playing a Serial Killer in Monster: The Ed Gein Story

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology

    Wisconsin Dairy Leads the Way with Cutting-Edge Technology Systems

    ENERCON and Biome collaborate for wind turbine noise reduction technology – Yahoo Finance

    ENERCON and Biome Join Forces to Revolutionize Wind Turbine Noise Reduction

    US and investors gambling on unproven nuclear technology, warn experts – Financial Times

    US and investors gambling on unproven nuclear technology, warn experts – Financial Times

    Is Light-Speed Analog Computing the Future of Technology? – BIOENGINEER.ORG

    Could Light-Speed Analog Computing Transform the Future of Technology?

    ARM Institute opens technology project call to speed submarine manufacturing – The Robot Report

    ARM Institute Unveils Cutting-Edge Technology Project to Revolutionize Submarine Manufacturing

    Forget Cowbells. Cows Wear High-Tech Collars Now. – The New York Times

    Ditch the Cowbells: Discover the High-Tech Collars Transforming Cattle Care

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
Earth-News
No Result
View All Result
Home News

‘Death to blasphemers’ increasing as political rallying cry in Pakistan

September 28, 2023
in News
‘Death to blasphemers’ increasing as political rallying cry in Pakistan
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Three police officers stand daily guard at the tomb of student Mashal Khan to prevent religious hardliners from fulfilling threats to blow up the grave of the 23-year-old beaten to death over rumours he blasphemed against Islam.

His grieving family, now also under police protection, say they have little hope the shocking campus killing will prompt a re-examination of blasphemy laws that carry a death penalty, or action against the mob justice that often erupts in such cases.

On Friday, there was more evidence the opposite is happening.

A new political party that has made punishing blasphemers its main rallying cry won a surprisingly strong 7.6 percent of the vote in a by-election in Peshawar, 60 km (36 miles) from where Mashal Khan was killed six months ago.

“Death to blasphemers! Death to blasphemers!” was a common chant of supporters of the Tehrik-e-Labaik party at its campaign rallies in the conservative northwestern city.

The party’s relatively strong showing – and a separate outcry over a proposed change to an election law that outraged the religious right – has elevated blasphemy into a potent political issue in the run-up to a general election in 2018.

While Tehrik-e-Labaik (Movement of the Prophet’s Followers) is unlikely to break out of single digits in coming votes, its rapid rise, along with another ultra-religious party, could create an additional challenge for the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

The party leader Nawaz Sharif, was ousted as prime minister in July by the Supreme Court, and opposition leader Imran Khan – who spearheaded the legal case that removed him over unreported income – is seeking to press the advantage.

RELIGIOUS RIGHT GAINS

In this week’s Peshawar by-election, former cricket star Imran’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party swept to a comfortable victory to retain the parliamentary seat, winning 34.8 percent of the vote.

Sharif’s PML-N had 18.9 percent, narrowly coming in third to the regionally strong Awami National Party that won just 40 more votes.

But the gains by the Labaik party – formed just last year – have grabbed attention.

Labaik draws most of its support from the Barelvi, the largest sect in Pakistan that is traditionally considered moderate. Though the party does not publicly talk about its funding, the Barelvis have a network of mosques and madrassa religious schools that collect donations.

The party emerged out of a protest movement against the state’s execution of Mumtaz Qadri, a bodyguard of the governor of Punjab province who gunned down his boss in 2011 over his call to reform blasphemy laws.

Qadri is considered a hero by the party, and its candidate in Peshawar, Muhammad Shafiq Ameeni, was equally supportive of Mashal Khan’s killers, although the student’s death was not a main feature at campaign rallies.

“It was state’s responsibility to punish a blasphemer, no two opinions, but when state doesn’t do its job and someone does kill, he shouldn’t be punished as a murderer,” Amini said, referring to the 57 people who face trial over Mashal Khan’s death.

In Pakistan, allegiance to Islam is the official line of most major parties, but ultra-religious parties have so far remained on the fringes.

Labaik is one of two new ultra-religious parties formed in roughly the past year.

Together, Labaik and the Milli Muslim League (MML) gained about 11 percent of the vote in last month’s by-election in Lahore and 10.4 percent in Peshawar, whereas the established religious parties, such as Jamaat-e-Islami and Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam, combined had 5.3 percent in the 2013 national election.

RULING PARTY UNDER FIRE

Blasphemy is such an effective wedge issue in Pakistan because there is almost no defense against an accusation.

For that reason, say critics, blasphemy laws are often invoked to settle personal scores and to intimidate liberal journalists, lawyers and politicians.

Dozens of Pakistanis are sitting on death row after being convicted of insulting the Holy Prophet, a specific charge that carries a mandatory death sentence, though no executions have been carried out in recent decades.

Now, political parties may be in danger of facing blasphemy accusations themselves.

Earlier in October, the PML-N found itself in the middle of a firestorm when it voted through seemingly small changes to the electoral law.

The changes, among other things, turned a religious oath in the electoral laws stating that Mohammad was the last prophet of Muslims into a declaration using the words “I declare”.

The alterations prompted accusations of blasphemy from the religious right and the government quickly retreated, terming the change a “clerical” mistake and apologizing in parliament.

Labaik has vowed to hold a mass rally on Nov. 6 to demand the lawmakers responsible be prosecuted for blasphemy.

MOB KILLINGS

Even before the Labaik party’s political debut, politicians found promising swift action against blasphemers an easy way to appeal to conservative voters.

In March, then-prime minister Sharif issued a public order to prosecute anyone posting blasphemous content online.

The next month, Mashal Khan was accused of online blasphemy and beaten to death by fellow students and religious activists as onlookers filmed the scene. Sharif said he was “shocked and saddened” by the “senseless display of mob justice”.

At least 67 people have been killed over unproven blasphemy allegations since 1990, according human rights groups.

Mashal Khan’s father, Iqbal, said his son was the victim of false rumours.

The family has received death threats from right-wingers and Mashal’s sisters had to drop out of school.

“The snakes our country nurtured are now biting us,” the father said, two days before the Peshawar by-election, standing beside his son’s gave strewn with flowers, lace and poetry.

Learning of the Labaik party’s gains a few days later only made him more pessimistic about the government’s ability to stop abuse of blasphemy accusations.

“I know very well, I‘m not going to get my son back,” he said. “But this only adds to my pain.”

>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : Nation.com.pk – https://www.nation.com.pk/27-Oct-2017/death-to-blasphemers-increasing-as-political-rallying-cry-in-pakistan

Tags: blasphemers'deathnews
Previous Post

Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis hold hands in solidarity after Danny Masterson controversy

Next Post

US wants Pakistan to act quickly to show support in countering militants

MSG Entertainment Takes Radio City Music Hall Into the Future With Introduction of Sphere Immersive Sound – Business Wire

MSG Entertainment Transforms Radio City Music Hall with Cutting-Edge Sphere Immersive Sound Experience

October 9, 2025
See photos from Pitt’s Health Sciences Alumni Weekend – University of Pittsburgh

See photos from Pitt’s Health Sciences Alumni Weekend – University of Pittsburgh

October 9, 2025
U.S. politics is broken because of MAGA Republicans and hard-line Democrats – AJC.com

How MAGA Republicans and Hard-Line Democrats Are Driving U.S. Politics to the Brink

October 9, 2025
Research team explores inclusion at conferences – EurekAlert!

Research team explores inclusion at conferences – EurekAlert!

October 9, 2025
If you feel you don’t really belong, here is some science-based advice – New Scientist

If you feel you don’t really belong, here is some science-based advice – New Scientist

October 9, 2025
Opinion | The most important Nobel prizes – The Washington Post

Opinion | The most important Nobel prizes – The Washington Post

October 9, 2025
Video: Owner Lists Shih Tzu’s ‘Toxic Traits’ & Internet Can’t Relate to It Enough – Yahoo

Watch: Owner Reveals Hilarious ‘Toxic Traits’ of Their Shih Tzu That Have Everyone Talking

October 9, 2025

Wisconsin Dairy Leads the Way with Cutting-Edge Technology Systems

October 9, 2025
What Ibrahima Konate wants from Liverpool contract talks – Yahoo Sports

Ibrahima Konate’s Ambitious Goals in His Liverpool Contract Negotiations

October 9, 2025
IRONMAN World Championship Kona 2025: Date, start time and how to watch live – TRI247

IRONMAN World Championship Kona 2025: Date, start time and how to watch live – TRI247

October 9, 2025

Categories

Archives

October 2025
M T W T F S S
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  
« Sep    
Earth-News.info

The Earth News is an independent English-language daily published Website from all around the World News

Browse by Category

  • Business (20,132)
  • Ecology (859)
  • Economy (879)
  • Entertainment (21,753)
  • General (17,499)
  • Health (9,922)
  • Lifestyle (892)
  • News (22,149)
  • People (881)
  • Politics (890)
  • Science (16,090)
  • Sports (21,380)
  • Technology (15,860)
  • World (862)

Recent News

MSG Entertainment Takes Radio City Music Hall Into the Future With Introduction of Sphere Immersive Sound – Business Wire

MSG Entertainment Transforms Radio City Music Hall with Cutting-Edge Sphere Immersive Sound Experience

October 9, 2025
See photos from Pitt’s Health Sciences Alumni Weekend – University of Pittsburgh

See photos from Pitt’s Health Sciences Alumni Weekend – University of Pittsburgh

October 9, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

Go to mobile version