ISLAMABAD — A court here Tuesday acquitted a Christian girl accused of blasphemy over the burning of the holy Qur'an. The ruling was the final chapter in a case that caused an international outcry over Pakistan's strict blasphemy laws, which are very popular in the country and are primarily used against supposed offenses to Islam. In August, the young Christian girl was arrested in Islamabad after a cleric accused her of desecrating the holy Qur'an. The cleric was later accused of fabricating evidence against the girl, whose mental capacity was subsequently questioned. Attorney Abdul Hameed said the court Tuesday exonerated Rimsha Masih for lack of evidence and dismissed all charges against her, concluding they were based on heresy and incriminated material that was planted in the girl's possession. “I am happy that the poor girl's ordeal is now over,” he said after hearing the court ruling. The girl was freed on bail in September and since then she has been living with her parents at some undisclosed location in Pakistan. She has not made any public appearance due to security reasons. In a 15-page judgement, Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Iqbal Hameed ur Rahman threw out the case registered against Rimsha and urged Muslims to be “extraordinary careful” while leveling such allegations. He said putting Rimsha on trial would have seen the courts “used as a tool for ulterior motive” and “to abuse the process of law”. Defense lawyer Tahir Naveed Chaudhry said that the family was “delighted” the case had been dropped, but said they “still live in fear”. Rimsha and her family were moved to an undisclosed location after her release on bail on Sept. 8. An official medical report classified her as “uneducated” and 14 years old, but with a mental age younger than her years. Others have said she is as young as 11 and suffers from Down's Syndrome. Paul Bhatti, the only Christian member of Pakistan's federal cabinet, welcomed the “historic” move, saying justice had been done. “It will send out a positive image of Pakistan in the international community that there is justice for all and that society has risen up for justice and tolerance,” he said. Political analyst Hasan Askari said the courts had acted fairly, but that Rimsha's fate remains uncertain because of the poor track record on how society treats people accused of blasphemy. Neither did he expect any immediate prospect of legal reforms. “The government does not have the capacity to withstand the pressure of these religious groups especially at a time when elections are very close,” he said. In 2011, Pakistani politicians Salman Taseer and Shahbaz Bhatti were assassinated for demanding that the blasphemy law be reformed. And despite international outcry, Asia Bibi, a Christian mother of five, sentenced to death in November 2010 after women claimed she made derogatory remarks about the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) remains in prison, pending an appeal process. — Agencies
