Temptations of judicial piety

In Pakistan, judges are a part of the problem of religious conservatism trumping justice

High Court, his passion for Islam has been cause for some in-court theatre.

On March 9, Siddiqui wept copiously as he pointed to the grave insult to the Prophet (PBUH) he had seen on social media. He ordered the department concerned and the federal interior minister to present themselves in his court to undertake the arrest of the blaspheming bloggers, so that the court could sentence them to death — the minimum punishment for those who dare insult the most revered personage of Islam.

He ordered the government of Pakistan to open an investigation into online blasphemy and threatened to ban social media networks like Facebook if this was not done. He wept some more the following day and was angered by the interior minister not turning up. (It was reported later that the minister was getting his eye operated on, but on his return he treated the nation to: “We will go to any extent including permanently blocking all such social media websites if they refuse to cooperate.”)

Reporting the incident, AFP wrote: “Rights groups say the label of blasphemer is liberally applied by religious conservatives in order to silence criticism of extremism. Even unproven allegations can be fatal. At least 65 people including lawyers, judges and activists have been murdered by vigilantes over blasphemy allegations since 1990, according to a recent think-tank report.”

Siddiqui is a particularly pious judge. He banned this year’s Valentine’s Day. One reported incident had the police arresting a boy selling red balloons with hearts printed on them, symbolising the day. Lawyers around the court feared if he wrote his banning order in the strict Islamic framework, the Supreme Court too would be forced to bow to his piety, reinforced by madrasas. One “blasphemous” media website was blocked in Pakistan on court orders for four years.

Siddiqui’s piety goes back a long time: In 2002, he tried to get elected — without success — on an MMA ticket, the clerical alliance that ruled in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but fell out with the Supreme Court because of its draconian lawmaking. In 2007, he defended the extremist cleric of the Red Mosque in Islamabad who had offended China. He is also said to have defended the blasphemy-killer of Governor Salmaan Taseer. According to reports, he has cases against him pending with the Supreme Judicial Council.

The policeman, Mumtaz Qadri, who shot Taseer, was hanged in 2016 after being sentenced by a judge of an anti-terrorism court. The judge left immediately for Hajj after the sentencing, but the prosecutor complained of death threats being flung at him daily. Qadri has a grand mausoleum just outside Islamabad, where thousands go to pay homage to him. The son of the murdered governor, Shahbaz Taseer, was kidnapped by the Taliban and kept under savage conditions in Afghanistan for three years before he was able to escape.

The writer is consulting editor, ‘Newsweek Pakistan’