An eight-year-old Hindu boy being the youngest person ever to be charged with blasphemy in Pakistan is one of the most disturbing news on social media.
The 8-year-old boy is under police custody after he was accused of peeing on a carpet in the library of a madrassa. They said the eight-year-old did it intentionally.
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The issue in detail
As per a report by Guardian News, the boy’s family is hiding with many Hindu communities in the district of Rahim Yar Khan in Punjab province, who made off from their houses after a group of Muslims attacked a Hindu temple just after the eight-year-old boy’s release on bail last week.
Troops were placed in the area to stamp out any further unrest.
Twenty people who were in connection with the temple attack were arrested on August 7. The charges of blasphemy can carry capital punishment, says the Guardian report.
Member of the boy’s family from an undisclosed location
“He (the boy) is not even aware of such blasphemy issues and he has been falsely indulged in these matters. He still doesn’t understand what his crime was and why he was kept in jail for a week.”, says a member of the boy’s family to The Guardian from an undisclosed location.
“We have left our shops and work, the entire community is scared and we fear backlash. We don’t want to return to this area. We don’t see any concrete and meaningful action will be taken against the culprits or to safeguard the minorities living here.” Said the family member.
Legal experts in shock
Blasphemy charges against an eight-year-old child have shocked legal experts. According to them, the move is unprecedented. No one his age has ever been charged in Pakistan with blasphemy before.
The Guardian report also said blasphemy laws have always been inappropriately used in Pakistan against religious minorities.
Suspects are often killed by mobs even though no blasphemy executions have been carried out in Pakistan since the death penalty was introduced in 1986 for the crime.
Statements that are given in response to the case
A lawmaker and the head of the Pakistan Hindu Council, Ramesh Kumar, came up with this statement:
“The attack on the temple and blasphemy allegations against the eight-year-old minor boy has really shocked me. More than a hundred homes of the Hindu community have been emptied due to fear of attack.”
Kapil Dev, a human rights activist, also said: “I demand charges against the boy are immediately dropped, and urge the government to provide security for the family and those forced to flee.”
“Police are hunting the attackers, and police teams are conducting raids to arrest the culprits, but there has been no arrest made yet.” Says Ahmad Nawaz, a spokesperson for the Rahim Yar Khan district police.