PakPattan: Human Rights Focus Pakistan (HRFP) welcomes the grant of post arrest bails to Christian Woman Musarrat Bibi and Muslim man Muhammad Sarmad by local court of Arifwala, PakPattan in province Punjab, Pakistan.

Both were charged with blasphemy under 295B of PPC for alleging the burning papers containing Quranic verses on 15 April 2023 in the school where Musarrat Bibi was working as peon and Muhammad Sarmad was working as gardener.

Musarrat Bibi and Muhammad Sarmad has granted the bails after last hearing of 12 May 2023 by furnishing surety bonds of PKR 100,000 with one surety for each. The court Trial will continue and the next hearing will come during next couple of weeks.

The court of Additional Session Judge Ejaz Ahmad Phullarwan verdicts that during course of investigations, the factum came to the surface that no occurrence has taken place as has been expressed by the complainant of instant FIR 385/2023 dated 19 April 2023 under section 295 B of PPC. 

FIR against both accused was registered in local police station, four-day delay while the case falls within ambit of further inquiry u/s 497 (2) PPC and the both victims are illiterates, HRFP added. 

HRFP supporting the victims & families through legal, financials with advocacy from beginning and will continue their assistance through protections and fulfilling the further needs in their situation. 

HRFP observed their innocence since the team has fact findings visit on site in the beginning of issue, met family and stakeholders and after the visit of Musarrat’s brother Younas Masih with local Pastor at HRFP office.  

Now Musarrat Bibi has shared the all details with HRFP that how and why she and Sarmad are falsely accused of blasphemy. The main reason to accusing her for treated hatred being Christian. One of the root causes was the few teachers forced her to clean the toilets only and have not been permitting her to sell food items at school store, saying “you are a Christian, so you have to clean toilets only”, Musarrat added.

“On the day of incident, victims were performing their duty assigned by their headmistress Nasreen Saeed, they just cleaned the area and the garbage was burnt by Muhammad Sarmad but there were no ‘holy papers’ in the trash they burnt. The students and teachers of school alleged that the papers with Quranic verses have been bunt by Musarrat Bibi and Muhammad Sarmad. During mob attack both were arrested and sent to Arifwala jail on 19 April 2023”, Musarrat shared further with HRFP.

Musarrat Bibi a widow, mother of 3 daughters, was working as a peon, she started after her husband died in 2007.

Naveed Walter President of Human Rights Focus Pakistan (HRFP) said that once a person accused of blasphemy the affects impacts the individual, family and community for longer even for life time. Especially when the accused belonged to minority the whole community becomes affected. Naveed Walter said the allegation of blasphemy is a life threat all the time; that not only effects on victims and family through physical, but emotional, psychological and economic as well. The survivors do not live normal lives even after they got the bails as like Musarrat Bibi and Muhammad Sarmad, Naveed Walter added.