CIAO DATE: 01/2013
October 2012
Norwegian Peacebuilding Resource Centre
Pakistan’s blasphemy laws have been at the centre of a fierce debate, especially after the assassination of the Punjab governor, Salman Taseer, in 2011. Pakistani society has been exposed to a potent and toxic mix of religious nationalism since the 1980s and consequently is divided along ideological fault lines that exacerbate the existing economic disparities. The media are also fragmented, catering only to their particular niches. This report takes a closer look at the role of the news media in the debate about blasphemy law reform in the aftermath of Taseer’s assassination, and attempts to assess public sentiment regarding this debate. Key findings of the media analysis indicate that the media reflect the fragmentation of Pakistani society, and that, while key issues such as the steady rise of extremism in the country and the ruling and military elite’s support for religious nationalism were identified by some newspapers, the debate over blasphemy law reform was lost in competing narratives. To assess public sentiment regarding the debate on the assassination and blasphemy law reform, surveys were carried out among students at two universities in Lahore to test the hypothesis that the upper-middle class and the rich are comparatively liberal and progressive in their political and religious thinking compared to the middle or lower-middle classes. This hypothesis was partially verified in terms of the data gathered. More than a year after Taseer’s assassination, Pakistan remains deeply divided and the muchneeded reform of the blasphemy laws remains sidelined, but if civil society and the media play a constructive role, there is hope to at least start the reform process.
Resource link: Crucial reform of Pakistan's blasphemy laws remains a distant dream [PDF]