Religious parties protested against the Supreme Court’s verdict in the Mubarak Ahmad Sani case, leading to clashes with the police, who used batons and teargas to prevent the demonstrators from reaching the Supreme Court on Monday.
The protest, organized by the Aalmi Majlis Tahaffuz-i-Nabuwat, called for the Supreme Court to revoke its judgement in the case.
The demonstration was led by JUIF leader Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, Qazi Abdur Rashid, Mian Muhammad Aslam of Jamaat-e-Islami, and Ajmal Baloch. Despite a confrontation with the police, the protesters managed to reach the Supreme Court building. The police fired several teargas shells, but the demonstrators remained defiant.
Leaders of the Khatam-e-Nabuwat movement issued a deadline of September 7 for the Supreme Court to review its verdict.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has scheduled a hearing for August 22 to address the Punjab government’s urgent request to remove certain portions from the July 24 verdict in the Mubarak Ahmad Sani case.
Background on the Mubarak Sani case
On February 6, a Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa overturned the conviction of Mubarak Sani, who had been accused in 2019 under the Punjab Holy Quran (Printing and Recording) (Amendment) Act. The court ruled that the offense for which Sani was convicted was not criminalized until 2021, leading to the overturning of his conviction and his immediate release.
The Punjab government subsequently challenged the decision, arguing that paragraph 9 of the ruling, which relates to Article 20 of the Constitution, should be modified. They claimed that the rights guaranteed under this provision are not absolute and must be balanced with law, public order, and morality. The Supreme Court, in its July 24 ruling, upheld that the right to religious freedom, as protected by the Constitution, is indeed subject to these considerations.
