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Senators on Tuesday called for strict action against those levelling \u201cfalse allegations\u201d of blasphemy and decried \u201cignorance\u201d after a young woman wearing a shirt with Arabic calligraphy was saved<\/a> from a mob attack in Lahore.<\/p>\n On Sunday afternoon, a mob had gathered outside a shop in Lahore\u2019s crowded Ichra Bazaar after someone alleged that a woman\u2019s shirt had Quranic verses printed on it. The charged zealots insisted on a \u201cblasphemy\u201d charge.<\/p>\n A video clip on social media showed the girl hiding in a shop and shivering with fear. Sensing the sensitivity of the issue, some police officials present at the site called in their higher-ups.<\/p>\n Subsequently, a police team led by Gulberg Circle Assistant Superintendent of Police (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. Later in the day, a video showing the woman apologising alongside religious scholars emerged.<\/p>\n Today, the upper house of Parliament echoed with criticism of the incident.<\/p>\n PPP Senator Rubina Khalid said that it was \u201cutter ignorance\u201d that some people could not differentiate between Quranic verses and Arabic letters. \u201cIf the police had not reached on time the inciteful mob would have done something worse,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to think about where we are heading. There should be a debate on this,\u201d she demanded.<\/p>\n The senator also took exception to the woman\u2019s \u201cforceful apology\u201d. The same day the incident was reported, a video had emerged of the young woman apologising for her outfit.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy was she made to record a public apology for something she didn\u2019t do?\u201d the senator asked.<\/p>\n Rubina added that the shirt the woman was wearing belonged to a brand based in Saudi Arabia. \u201cIt is fine there, but here women are harassed in the name of religion.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are all Muslims and are proud of it [\u2026] but there is a huge difference between an ignorant and a Muslim,\u201d the senator said.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, MQM-P Senator Faisal Subzwari said: \u201cWhat 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?\u201d<\/p>\n He stressed that using religion to level false allegations was the worst form of disrespect. \u201cThis is a huge problem, I wish the House could have completed legislation over the misuse of blasphemy laws,\u201d said Subzwari.<\/p>\n \u201cWho is at fault here? Who is defaming the religion? Is it that woman or is it the people who despite reading the letters [on her shirt] falsely accused her?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n The MQM-P senator further stated that every person was fearful of speaking in public today. \u201cWhat kind of a picture are we presenting of a religion that represents peace and love?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery Muslim, not just religious scholars, has the right to speak about the religion they follow,\u201d Subzwari concluded.<\/p>\n Speaking to the media a day earlier, ASP Shehr Bano had stated that the situation in Lahore had emerged due to \u201cconfusion and miscommunication\u201d.<\/p>\n \u2018Confusion and miscommunication\u2019<\/h2>\n