ISLAMABAD - Police on Saturday told a court that a Christian girl who spent three weeks in jail is not guilty and a cleric who allegedly framed her should face trial instead. Investigating officer Munir Jafri said police could not find any evidence against Rimsha Masih, thought to be 14, who was accused in August of burning pages from the Holy Quran in a case which sparked an international outcry. “We have also told the court that there are witnesses and evidence against the local imam for framing a false blasphemy case against Rimsha,” Jafri told AFP. Judge Ghulam Abbas Shah adjourned the case till Monday, September 24 to decide on whether Imam Hafiz Mohammed Khalid Chishti, who was arrested for allegedly adding pages from the Holy Quran to a bag of burnt paper, should face trial. Rao Abdur Rahim, the counsel for Rimsha’s neighbour Hammad Malik who had accused her along with Chishti, said he was not satisfied with the police report.
“This report is based on the bad intentions of the investigators and is made to prove Rimsha innocent. But, I will fight the case and make her face trial,” he told AFP. Rimsha and her family, who fear for life after the blasphemy charges, were moved to an undisclosed location since her release on bail on September 8. The case of Rimsha Masih, who was accused of setting fire to papers that contained verses from the Holy Quran, incited particular condemnation because she is said to be underage, illiterate and suffering from learning difficulties. An official medical report has classified her as “uneducated” and aged 14, but with a mental age younger than her years. Others have said she is as young as 11 and suffers from Down’s Syndrome.