Bookshop owner accused of blasphemy in Sialkot

Pakistan's infamous blasphemy law has struck again, this time in Sialkot city. The victim is a book store owner named Gulzar Masih.
Gulzar Masih and his muslim friend Abdul Rauf opened a bookshop 10 years ago and soon their business flourished, they expanded their shop to a much bigger one, seeing the success of the business Rauf wanted to take over the bookshop for himself and there were rifts between the two.To come to a settlement both partners agreed to go separate ways in 2009 resulting in individual bookshops named Delight books & New Delight books. Gulzar's unit began to thrive and his success was not acceptable to Rauf who refused to accept his own failure in running a shop as well as Gulzar, and unveiled a fiendish plan to try and close down his competitor; the bookshop of his former business associate.

Gulzar Masih’s son Suleman went early morning to open their shop on Druman Wala Chowk only to find some burnt pages of the Qur‘an under the shutter, and as pre-planned employees of Abdul Rauf began to shout, accusing Gulzar and his son of the crime.
 The noise by Rauf's staff gathered more muslims from the area and passers-by who then attempted to attack Suleman but he was lucky enough to escape from the crowd and inform his father of the conspiracy.The mob then proceeded to set Gulzar's shop on fire, however Police reached on time and prevented the crowd from burning the shop and dispersed all those gathered.
Meanwhile, a Christian leader says “extremist elements are getting stronger” in his nation.
The  blasphemy law provides the death penalty for anyone who speaks ill of Islam or Prophet Mohammed or anyone who disrespects the Quran.

Gulzar Masih, his son and the rest of the family have gone into hiding leaving behind their bookshop to save themselves from the widely criticized blasphemy law that has destroyed lives of many Christians where a few false witnesses and some pieces of a Quran's page can frame anybody. 

To date the maximum cases of blasphemy cases have come from Punjab, Sialkot city also comes under the Punjab Province where most of Pakistan's Christian community resides and it also records the most discrimination against minorities than any other place in Pakistan.


“The blasphemy law is being once more as a pretext to settle a personal score,” said Father Naeem Taj.


Will Gulzar get justice ? or will Rauf's evil plans succeed?