Pakistan Police Arrest Cleric who Accused Christian Girl Rimsha of Blasphemy

Today Qari Mohammad Khalid Chishti was sent to Jail on 14 days remand.

Qari Khalid Chishti photo: Pakistan Tribune

(ISLAMABAD, Pakistan) - Pakistani police arrested a Muslim cleric Sunday night for planting evidence on a Christian girl accused of burning a Koran, purportedly to frame her. Witnesses say the cleric tore pages from the Koran and planted them in the girl’s bag.

­Qari Khalid Chishti had previously presented police with evidence that Rimsha Masih – a Christian girl who is 14-years old, had committed blasphemy by burning pages of the Koran. He was arrested on Sunday after witnesses claimed he had falsified the evidence.

According to Basharat Khokher (lawyers spokesman from APMA), "Qari Mohammad Khalid Chishti was arrested after the statements of Hafiz Zubair and two others told a magistrate he had added pages from the Quran to the bag of ashes brought to him by a witness."

Hafiz Zubair said, "They protested that he should not add something to the evidence and he should give the evidence to the police as he got it and should not do this."

Chishti allegedly responded by saying, “You know this is the only way to expel the Christians from this area.”

The controversy deepened amid reports that the girl was not actually seen burning the pages, but was rather found with pages torn from the Koran in her bag.

On August 21st, Chishti told me, he believed Rimsha was part of a Christian "conspiracy" to insult Muslims, and had deliberately burned the Quranic pages. He demanded that action be taken to stop what he called "anti-Islam activities" in Mehrabad, Islamabad.

Now I think "He has committed a greater offense than the girl by burning the pages himself and adding to the evidence that was given to him and he should get punishment."

Today Qari Mohammad Khalid Chishti was sent to Jail on 14 days remand.

 
Shamim Masih

Christian Rights Activist
Freelance Journalist 

Secretary General 

REAP

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