Salman Shami

Sajid Masih cousin of Patras Masih was seriously injured when he jumped out of an upper storey window in a police station after they tried to get him to sodomise his younger relative.

Not only is the blasphemy law in Pakistan unfair in how it’s written and applied but the police are inept and out of control. How can people possibly hope to get a fair?

https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2018/02/24/fia-officials-forced-me-to-have-sex-with-main-blasphemy-accused-claims-injured-suspect/

Aman Mittal’s great review on Goodreads.

Some excerpts

“…… This novel sets a benchmark in its genre for Asian writers to look forward to….”

“…Salman has a unique way of covering every aspect of developing a story, a learning if you are an aspiring writer and a pleasure for a reader….”

“…the reader doesn’t feel left out at any point….”

“…The evolution of characters is great and as a reader, I could clearly estimate that what a strong background each one of them has. The relationship between the main cast is displayed in a very authentic and an uncompromisable manner with usual twists and turns from the start. If that is not enough, the writing style will hook you up since it is fast-paced and I managed to finish it in less time than I expected after giving a glimpse on the length of the book…..”

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2305674523?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

17 year old Christian teenager Patras Masih was accused of posting content deemed blasphemy on a Facebook page Paglon Ki Baasti. Patras’s father told the police his son’s mobile phone was in the shop being repaired since December. The police say they arrested and charged the boy to appease the local gangs of fanatic Muslims who would otherwise have attacked the whole Christian settlement.

https://www.indiatoday.in/fyi/story/lahore-local-cleric-accuses-christian-teenager-of-blasphemy-on-social-media-mob-demand-execution-1173669-2018-02-20

Asma Jahangir fought a good fight and two days ago lost the biggest fight. She died; may she rest in peace. What will live on his her legacy of standing up for human rights in Pakistan. She fought the battles everyone else was scared to including against the regressive blasphemy law. She also sought to free countless people from slavery and bonded labour.

She was my father’s colleague and they worked together on many human right’s cases. My father always spoke highly of her as did most decent people in Pakistan.

Asma Jahangir co-founded Pakistan’s Human Rights Commission and was the first woman to be elected as president of the Supreme Court Bar Association.

Pakistan, its people and its government are held hostage by a myriad of religious nutbags, each a different shade of crazy.

The government is trying to make amendments to the blasphemy law to make it more just and less prone to misuse and abuse.

https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2018/02/09/jui-f-fiercely-opposes-blasphemy-law-amendment/

Jamaat-ulema-Islam Fazlul Rehman Group is fiercely opposed to this and have vowed to fight to the death to oppose any changes.

Religious extremists in Pakistan are now violently protesting a guilty verdict in the case of Mashal Khan. A mob fatally beat a university student in a frenzied mob attack after they accused him of blasphemy. One person has been sentenced to death and 25 have been given jail sentences of varying lengths. The insanity of the religious extremists knows no bounds. That they can even countenance protesting the serving of justice to brutal murderers beggars belief.  Some of the perpetrators who were acquited for lack of evidence are feted as heroes. It is obvious that morality and religion are not linked. Blasphemy had driven people insane

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/religious-groups-protest-guilty-verdicts-in-slaying-of-pakistani-student/2018/02/10/4ae90d4a-0da0-11e8-998c-96deb18cca19_story.html?utm_term=.15c2d1cc9400

“The Blasphemy Law is set in Pakistan, a country posed on the brink of political and social transformation (or danger, depending on perspective), and tells of an Australian solar engineer who runs into trouble when a ruthless landowner involves a terrorist group in framing her for blasphemy. But it’s not enough for Jane to face imprisonment and death: her family, too, is targeted; and this embroils them in a life and death struggle between good and evil.

One of the special features of the story lies in Salman Shami’s ability to bring Pakistan’s environment and culture to life. From daily village activities (“Jane breathed in the earthy smells of freshly tilled fields, cow dung fires and boiling chai. The chirping of birds mixed with the gentle hubbub of early risers, people conversing in quiet, polite tones. Women were making flatbread and churning lassi for workers heading out into the fields. The village was gently waking from its peaceful slumber.”) to terrorist movements and actions, those who would help Jane are pitted against professionals who would exact revenge.

Whether it’s obsessive assassins, ambushes and confrontations, or a series of close encounters with tenacious military intelligence agents, The Blasphemy Law is replete with political and social strife and terrorist cat-and-mouse games that keep thriller readers involved and immersed in the conundrums of all involved. The well-written plot, strong characterization, and logical progression of events keeps action fast-paced and readers on the edges of their seats.

Shami’s ability to get inside the hearts and minds of all his characters keeps the story fast-paced and filled with insights that lend authenticity to motivations and special interests: “Fazal yawned. What did the major think he was going to learn by letting these foreigners run free. It was obvious they were going to Karachi. He could think of only one reason why that was the case. Karachi was the favourite route for people-smugglers. If he wanted a publicly known figure to leave the country that is the way he would have chosen as well. He was no longer following the spy movie on TV. It had become needlessly complicated. Life was rarely ever like that.”

The result is a thriller that brings its readers right onto the soil and perceptions of the Pakistani people of all walks. It pairs high-octane action with gripping suspense to keep readers on edge until the final, unpredictable conclusion, which cunningly leaves the door open for more while deftly finishing the adventure at hand.”

– D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review

Salman Shami

Professor Hafeez has spent the last five years in solitary confinement on the charge of posting blasphemous content on Facebook. His lawyer was murdered for defending him. The blasphemy law in Pakistan has seen countless innocent people caught in a nightmare scenario.

https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/02/05/pakistani-professors-endless-blasphemy-trial

#theblasphemylaw #asiabibi #professorhafeez