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Pakistan woman in Arabic script dress saved from mob claiming blasphemy (www.bbc.com)

submitted 8 months ago by MicroWave to c/worldnews

38 comments fedilink hide all child comments

An angry mob in Pakistan accused a woman who wore a dress adorned with Arabic calligraphy of blasphemy, after mistaking them for Quran verses.

She was saved by police who escorted her to safety after hundreds gathered. She later gave a public apology.

The dress has the word "Halwa" printed in Arabic letters on it, meaning beautiful in Arabic.

Blasphemy is punishable by death in Pakistan. Some people have been lynched even before their cases go on trial.

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

I can't speak to how things are playing out in Libya, but in Pakistan western powers have almost done the opposite. They have no qualms in working directly with the military to further their geopolitical interests, and historically the periods of dictatorship have been when Pakistan has gotten the most economic & material assistance from the US.

Right now, Pakistan is undergoing yet another democratic crisis as the recent elections were clearly rigged by the military. The US has decided to treat it as an "internal matter" and not put any pressure. If they had done something like make getting the next IMF loan contingent on an external audit of the election results, or on stopping digital censorship (Twitter/X has been blocked here for the past 2 weeks to suppress discussion of the rigged election results), it might even the odds a bit and help citizens and political parties challenge the hegemony of the military over the political process.

But yes regime change and just toppling dictators and installing your favorite candidate is not the answer.

[–] angrymouse 2 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

This is very similar what we had in Brazil, but the argument was that supporting a "temporary" military junta was "more democratic" than a social Democratic government cause they were communists.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

lol. lmao. Well there you go. That is the kind of role Western powers play in our democracies. In Pakistan also, the Reagan administration gave a lot of support to General Zia ul Haq so that he could arm the Taliban to defeat communists in the Afghan civil war. And, surprise surprise, Zia also started a heavy crackdown on all left-wing movements in Pakistan, especially student unions.

[–] angrymouse 2 points 8 months ago

This exactly what happened in Brazil, the argument was that a militar junta influenced by the catholic church was more democratic than a social democratic president not aligned with US. And this was actually an argument.