Extract written by Eric Lubbock, 4th Baron Avebury, in his report on the MFI. On 11 August 2008, a blasphemy case 295A, PPC was registered against eight
MFI members by the Khatam-e-Nabuwwat (FIR No. 281/2008, Date of Occurrence 8 August 2008), at
Police Station Kotri, District Jamshoro,
Sindh Province,
Pakistan.
(See copy of English translation of FIR, attached) On 5 August 2008 two
MFI members (Mustaqeem and Umer) were severely beaten by extremists, but an FIR was registered against MFI members (FIR No. C/31/08, Date of Report 6 August 2008,
Police Station Sharif Abad, District
Karachi,
Sindh Province,
Pakistan)
(See copy of English translation of FIR, attached) On 18 October 2008 at 03.30 Mr Mohammad Iqbal (whose family was active in MFI) was murdered (FIR No. 995/2008, Offence u/s 302, 148, 149 PPC, Date of Report 16 October 2008 at 0500 AM,
Police Station Factory Area, District Shaikhupura,
Punjab Province,
Pakistan)(See copy of English translation of FIR, attached). Hatred has been incited against the MFI members in
Pakistan, who are accused of blasphemy, and these incidents are examples of the result. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), New Delhi, wrote on 4 September 2008, to the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government, setting out the case well. It was reported on 4 August 2009 in the daily Safeer, that Mr. Paras Masih, organiser for the Christian community of the MFI, had been murdered in
Karachi. In another case, members of MFI in Pakistan were arrested and charged for claiming Shahi as being the Imam Mehdi. According to Dawn.com, 2005 – December 23: Five members of the Mehdi Foundation International were arrested in Wapda Town, Lahore, for putting up posters of their leader, Riaz Gohar Shahi, showing him as 'Imam Mehdi'. The Anti-Terrorism Court sentenced each to five years' imprisonment under Section 295-A of the PPC. Their prisoners' records posted outside the cell falsely indicate that they had been sentenced under 295-C – the Blasphemy Law. The prisoners "were forced to parade naked, hung up in the air and beaten", and were sexually abused in jail by staff members.
MFI Members in Tihar Jail On 23 April 2007, 63 Pakistani MFI members, who had obtained tourist visas for India, protested outside the Pakistani Embassy in
Yantra Mantra,
New Delhi, India, against the government of Pakistan. They asked India for
asylum, refusing to return to their homeland. During their protests, they burnt their passports and travel documents that tied them to Pakistan, Pakistani flags, and effigies of
Pervez Musharraf and
Maulana Fazlur Rehman. They were subsequently arrested for having no travel documentation and therefore being in India illegally. It is reported that they feared for their lives in Pakistan, where if they went back they would be charged with the
Blasphemy Law, the penalty for which is death. According to
Zee News,
IBN Live,
Outlook India and other newspapers, the Pakistani government had banned their practice of faith in Pakistan. On 22 May 2007, in front of Indian Embassy in London, the MFI staged a demonstration to bring attention to the situation of their members in jail and the dangers they faced if the Indian government decided to deport them to Pakistan. In the 2007 annual report on Pakistan, Human Rights Without Frontiers appealed to the National Human Rights Commission in India about the MFI case: "Is the Commission aware of the case of the planned deportation by India of 62 Pakistani citizens...? [India]is a secular
democracy observing high standards of human rights including the right of peaceful practice of religion, and Pakistani Muslims consider that the religious beliefs of the Mehdi Foundation International are blasphemous, making its followers vulnerable to criminal charges for which the penalty is death under the controversial
Pakistani Blasphemy Act." The NHRC stated in reply that "The Commission...will examine...the most appropriate follow-up". In December 2010, however, the
Hindustan Times reported that the Delhi high court had issued a protection order for the inmates, preventing their deportation for 70 days as of 2 December.
Mail Today reported in March 2011 that the UNHCR was asked by the Indian High Commission to conduct interviews of the jail members and grant them asylum in countries other than India within 6 weeks of 2 December 2010. This was extended another 3 weeks, but the possibility of them being deported to Pakistan had not been ruled out. In April 2011, though the Centre wished to deport the Pakistani nationals, the Delhi High Court ordered the Centre to wait until it made a decision on a plea to hand them over to the United Nations High Commission of Refugees. On 21 April 2011, the
Times of India and other Indian newspapers reported that the Indian government had granted the MFI members in jail refugee status and had requested the UNHCR to search for a third country for their relocation. In December 2011, several newspapers reported that 65 MFI members from Tihar Jail had been granted refugee status and were being sent to Canada and the United States. They are now settled in said countries.
Protests MFI has held numerous protests and rallies over the years to draw attention to how its members are treated in
Pakistan and to its cause. They staged demonstrations on 16 August 2005 in front of the Pakistan
high commission in London and on 25 August 2005 on 10
Downing Street, London, UK. On 25 July 2005, MFI members in Pakistan staged a rally in front of the
Parliament of Pakistan in
Islamabad to express their support for
Pervez Musharraf in his anti-terrorism endeavours. The MFI has also called for
Wahhabism to be banned in the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and India, due to its alleged link to terrorism and hate preaching. Due in part to their efforts in India to raise awareness of
Zakir Naik's link to Wahhabism, he was declared a proclaimed offender by the
National Investigation Agency and his Indian passport was revoked. ==Expansion==