An additional district as well as sessions judge in Lahore, Pakistan recently dismissed a bail petition filed by a woman who has been involved in a blasphemy case for over two years. While setting April 9 as the date for recording the last prosecution witness’ statement, Judge Chowdhary Azam ruled that the accused Waleeha Arfaat’s release on bail is pointless at a time when the trial has been almost completed.

Arfaat was accused of having destroyed the Quran at her residence on March 3, 2012. In her bail application, Arfaat reasoned that with the conclusion of police investigation, there was little reason why she could not be released on bail while her trial continued. This application, which was dismissed on April 8, was Arfaat’s fourth attempt at seeking bail since her arrest on charges of blasphemy over two years ago.

According to the Arfaat, who has denied all allegations so far, she was wrongfully implicated in a false case that was framed by her neighbor and complainant Abdul Monaim Shah. The accused claimed that during investigation, neither the complainant nor the second prosecution witness Mohammad Boota said anything about her desecrating the Quran.

She also alleged the burnt pages of the Quran that were recovered from her house during investigation were planted there by the third prosecution witness Saim Khan.

“I had had a quarrel with Khan a few days before the registration of the FIR,” she said.

In the FIR, Shah said that Khan had led him and Boota to Arfaat’s house where they apparently saw her sitting next to a desecrated copy of the Quran.

“I was patrolling the street when she (Saim Khan) came out of house at around 5am in the morning and started shouting and accusing her of blasphemy,” he said.

Shah added that Khan stopped shouting and screaming only after he and Boota decided to break into Arfaat’s house and prevent her from destroying the Quran any further.

Photo Credits: Jihad Watch