Pakistan’s Law Minister Zahid Hamid Resigns Over Blasphemy Charge
The resignation came as part of an agreement reached between the government and the protesters overnight
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After three weeks of unrest across the country over law related to the Khatm-i-Nabuwwat (finality of prophethood) oath, Pakistan’s Law Minister Zahid Hamid tendered his resignation.
Hamid resigned after clashes between police and protesters belonging to religious groups turned deadly, killing at least six and injuring over 100. The resignation came as part of an agreement reached between the government and the protesters overnight.
Hamid submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi to bring the country "out of a state of crisis", Radio Pakistan reported. The protesters had staged sit-in in the capital for about three weeks, demanding removal of Hamid for changes in a law alleging the action undermined Islamic beliefs and linked it to blasphemy.
As Islamabad witnessed a media blackout on 25 and 26 November, prominent Pakistani journalists and commentators protested against the move vociferously across the world.
Here are some glimpses of that rage across the Twitterverse, as people complained about the country turning into the “Islamic Republic of China” and bemoaning the lack of democracy. Some tweets summed up the frustration, while some attempted to make light of the situation:
Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) on 25 November ordered almost all leading private TV channels to go off-air.
The reason offered by PEMRA for this order, was the allegation that these TV channels have been violating media regulations by showing live coverage of a security operation, ANI reported.
The coverage in question, was of the protests that had been taking place at the Faizabad intersection for the past two-weeks.
PEMRA stated that it decided to take the action based on two factors: as a result of Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi’s request, and after the live coverage of the operation led to difficulties in carrying out full-throttle action, reported The Express Tribune.
The country also faced a social media crackdown with people not being allowed to access YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. This has ironically led to an outbreak of protests on social media from other users across the world.
What Sparked the Protests That Sparked the Blackout?
Tehreek-e-Labaik blamed the law minister, Zahid Hamid, for wording in an electoral law that changed a religious oath proclaiming Muhammad the last prophet of Islam to the words "I believe", a change the party said amounts to blasphemy.
Soon after, groups of protesters claiming to “defend the honour of the prophet” in light of this law, accumulated in the capital and staged protests across major roads, causing a halt in traffic and disturbance in the commute of those travelling between Islamabad and its neighboring garrison city of Rawalpindi.
They then proceeded to camp at the Faizabad intersection since 8 November.
The Ahmadis claim to be Muslim, but also follow a 19th-century prophet. They were however declared non-Muslim in 1974.
Who are the Protesters?
Many of the supporters were from ultra-conservative Tehreek-e-Labaik party, who accused Law Minister Zahid Hamid of blasphemy.
Supporters of the small Tehreek-i-Labaik Ya Rasool Allah party had been camped out for the last three weeks at a main intersection outside Islamabad, demanding the resignation of a law minister over the omitted reference to the Prophet Muhammad in a parliamentary bill. The minister, Zahid Hamid, apologised for the omission — a phrase saying that Muhammad “may or may not be the last prophet in Islam” — saying it was a clerical error that was later corrected.
But protest leaders were adamant and refused to clear the intersection unless the law minister resigned.
Saturday's action came after a court ordered an end to the protest because it was disrupting daily life.
Television footage showed police initially taking control of the bridge where the demonstrators were camped out. Some protesters could be seen throwing stones at police. The images showed an area engulfed in thick smoke from tear gas and black smoke from burned tents.
The protests have seemed to draw attention to the rapidly growing friction between the government and its people, especially since former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif got ousted by the Supreme Court, reported The Washington Post.
The protesters, who witnessed a police crackdown on 25 November morning, had stated that they would not move until the federal law minister, responsible for forming this problematic law, was arrested.
As per the clashes between the security forces and the protesters, one police personnel has died after he sustaining head injuries while dealing with the protesters in Islamabad. Over 50 security officials and dozens of protesters have also sustained injuries, reports ANI.
(With inputs from Reuters, AP, ANI and The Express Tribune)
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