Members of the Senate belonging to the PTI staged a protest in the upper house of the parliament on Tuesday raising slogans in support of female party leaders in jail, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

The PTI senators were carrying banners inscribed with slogans supporting Yasmin Rashid, Ayesha Bhatti and Sanam Javed. They surrounded the dais of Senate chairman and staged a walkout from the house but returned after some time.

Senators assail Arabic dress incident

The senators called for strict action against those levelling false allegations of blasphemy and decried “ignorance” after a young woman wearing a shirt with Arabic calligraphy was saved from a mob attack in Lahore.

On Sunday afternoon, a mob had gathered outside a shop in Lahore’s crowded Ichhra Bazaar after someone alleged that a woman’s shirt had Quranic verses printed on it. ASP Syeda Shehr Bano Naqvi engaged the crowd, took the woman into protective custody and shifted her to the police station amid heightened security measures.

In Tuesday’s session, PPP Senator Rubina Khalid said that it was “utter ignorance” that some people could not differentiate between Quranic verses and Arabic letters. “If the police had not reached on time the inciteful mob would have done something worse,” she said and added “We need to think about where we are heading. There should be a debate on this.”

MQM-P Senator Faisal Subzwari said: “What kind of a Muslim is someone who cannot identify between a Quranic verse and a simple Arabic word? And what kind of a Muslim is someone who, despite knowing how to read Arabic, makes false accusations against someone?”

He stressed that using religion to level false allegations was the worst form of disrespect. “This is a huge problem, I wish the House could have completed legislation over the misuse of blasphemy laws,” said Subzwari.

Reporter Rozina Ali