The National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee on Religious Affairs, while condemning blasphemous material against religious figures particularly publication and selling of blasphemous books against the final Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and his companions, has directed the authorities concerned to hold crackdown against all such elements.
The committee, which met here on Friday, under the chairmanship of Maulana Asad Mahmood, also asked the concerned authorities to vigorously take up the matter at the international level. The panel further recommended federal and provincial governments to confiscate such books and take action against the book sellers involved in importing such books.
Minority member of the assembly Ramesh Kumar told the committee that a parliamentary committee had been constituted on the issue of forced conversion. The bill in this regard has been presented before the committee; therefore, a debate over this subject should be postponed.
Chairman committee after soliciting the opinion of members of the committee postponed the debate over the bill till parliamentary committee recommendations are received. Secretary committee told that Amir Navid Jiwa MNA had presented a bill on forced conversion, which was sent to the Council for Islamic Ideology (CII) and its recommendations had been received. Through these recommendations the bill has been opposed, therefore, this bill is rejected.
The federal ministers and all of the members of the standing committee stressed on the point that the books with blasphemous contents and other such literature cannot be published and sold in the country at all.
The committee, while deliberating on issues related to upcoming Hajj, also recommended the government to start Hajj operation from the sea and the land routes, making it cheaper, for the pilgrims. The committee was briefed that the Hajj expenditure for the Hajj 2020 are kept almost equal to those of Hajj 2019. However, due to rise in the airfare and some necessary charges of the Saudi government, the Hajj expenditures have slightly been increased.
The committee noted there was a monopoly of air companies. The air companies are charging excessive airfare from the pilgrims. So, in order to address the issue, the committee suggested, that the Hajj might be made possible through sea and land by curtailing the Hajj expenditures. So, the committee directed that working might be made on these lines and a report be submitted to the standing committee in its next meeting.
The Federal Minister for Housing and Works, Chaudhry Tariq Bashir Cheema, briefed the Standing Committee on the resolution unanimously passed by the National Assembly and informed the panel that some international publishers published the books with blasphemous material and then they export the books to Pakistan. The committee directed that such books may be banned forthwith and the publishers, importers and the book sellers of those books may be dealt with, in accordance with the law.
The chairman committee inquired from Ministry of Religious Affairs is there any cell operating in the ministry, which could review these books. The secretary religious affairs told the committee that a cell to deal with the matters related to insulting and blasphemous caricatures, drawings and obscene material on social media is functioning in the ministry, which informs the PTA about all such websites.
The secretary Ministry of Religious Affairs said that, there was no cell working about books, the other members of the committee also expressed resentment over availability of blasphemous books with major book sellers in the country, saying ban should be slapped forthwith over sale of such books and action be taken against those involved in importing and publishing such books in the country.
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