Another Hearing in Pakistan's 'Blasphemy' Case Against Teen Girl Rimsha

Rimsha’s lawyer contends that the Imam, Khalid Jadoon, had fabricated the charge of blasphemy because he wanted the Christian community to vacate.

Courtesy: thenews.com.pk

(ISLAMABAD, Pakistan) - On Wednesday, The Islamabad High Court (IHC) extended the restraining order against the trial of Rimsha, a Christian girl, accused of committing blasphemy, until Nov 14, 2012.

The IHC extended the stay during the hearing of a petition filed by the accused girl for quashing the FIR registered against her whom she had pleaded was baseless and had been based on false information.

The court extended the stay in order to first decide on the petition for quashing the FIR.

During Wednesday’s hearing of Rimsha’s petition, Chaudhry Abdul Aziz Advocate submitted his power of attorney on behalf of Malik Ummad, the accuser.

The court directed the counsels to conclude their arguments at the upcoming hearing on Nov 14 and extended the restraining order until the said date.

Earlier on Oct 1, IHC Chief Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman had stayed the trial until Oct 17.

Rimsha’s petition

In the petition filed for the FIR’s quashing, Rimsha’s lawyer had contended that it was the Imam, Khalid Jadoon, who had fabricated the charge of blasphemy because he wanted the Christian community to vacate.

Counsel Abdul Hameed Rana referred to the statement of prosecution witness Hafiz Zubair recorded under section 164 of CrPC on August 31 that the Imam had put pages of the Holy Quran in the shopping bag to make a case against the Christians.

Also, he said, the girl was a juvenile according to her medical report compiled by a board of seven doctors, which had also stated that she appeared to be uneducated and of underdeveloped mind.

Under these circumstances, there was no chance of her conviction and further proceeding with the case would be a futile exercise, the petition had stated.

Lawyer’s fee

Earlier the lawyer’s penal include Parvaiz and other are wondering for their dues for Rimsha case. APMA dealing with this case has not paid their fee so far.

About Shamim Masih

"I am Christian rights activist and freelancer Pakistani journalist specializing in writing about Christians rights for the different papers in the world. My aim is to create a peaceful environment in the society and to help eliminate Christian persecution through my writing as I bring the plight of these brave people under the spotlight of the whole world."

Shamim Masih was born in Sheikhopura's village and raised in Gujranwala, a city in Pakistan's Punjab province. He earned his Bachelors Degree from the University of the Punjab, Lahore majoring in English, Economics and Statistics; he also received a Masters Degree in Business Administration.

As a freelance writer and author, Shamim has written for different papers in the world; his expertise is in writing articles highlighting different social issues. He has served as freelance chief reporter and column writer in “Minority Times” in Islamabad, and a number of Shamim's articles have been published in local papers as well.

You can write to Shamim at this address: shamimpakistan@gmail.com