Pakistan court grants bail to Christian man convicted of blasphemy
The Lahore High Court in Pakistan on Monday granted bail to a 20-year-old Christian man convicted of blasphemy. Nabeel Masih was 16 years old when a photo of the Kaaba, a holy site in Islam, with a pig on top of it appeared on his Facebook page. According to the US Commission on International Religious [...]
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on Saturday issued notices to Google and Wikipedia for “disseminating sacrilegious content” through their platforms. According to the authority, these websites are hosting misleading content about the present khalifa (spiritual head) of Islam. The searches on these platforms show the current leader of the Ahmadiyya community as the “present khalifa [...]
“I tell you that I still consider myself to be an Indian. For the moment I have accepted the Governor-Generalship of Pakistan. But I am looking forward to a time when I would return to India and take my place as a citizen of my country.” – Muhammad Ali Jinnah (Dec 1947 Karachi) Indians have [...]
Pakistan court sentences Christian man to death for blasphemy
The Lahore Sessions Court in Pakistan on Tuesday sentenced Christian factory worker Asif Pervaiz to death for blasphemy. Pervaiz has been in custody since 2013 when he was first charged with blasphemy for messages he sent to his former supervisor, Muhammad Saeed Khokher. Judge Mansoor Ahmad Qureshi sentenced Pervaiz to serve three years in prison [...]
UN rights expert urges states to protect freedom of religion
A UN human rights expert presented a report to the Human Rights Council Tuesday highlighting an increase in the use of anti-blasphemy and anti-apostasy laws to crack down on dissent. Ahmed Shaheed, the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, noted the increased threat to freedom of expression, writing, “Freedom of religion or [...]
Pakistan Supreme Court upholds acquittal of Christian woman accused of blasphemy
The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Monday upheld the acquittal of Christian woman Asia Bibi, who spent years on death row after being convicted of blasphemy. The court overturned her 2010 blasphemy conviction and death sentence in October for failure to proffer enough evidence that Bibi indeed committed the crime. The review petition was filed by [...]
Ireland’s Vote to Remove Blasphemy from its Constitution and the Case of Asia Bibi
In a referendum held on Friday, October 26, 2018, the people of Ireland voted to amend the Irish Constitution to remove the word blasphemy from Article 40.6.1, which declared that “he publication or utterance of blasphemous, seditious, or indecent matter is an offence which shall be punishable in accordance with law.” This constitutional amendment enables [...]
Pakistan Supreme Court overturns Catholic woman's blasphemy conviction and death sentence
The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Wednesday overturned the 2010 blasphemy conviction and death sentence of Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Catholic woman, for failure to proffer enough evidence that Bibi indeed committed the crime. The court’s decision rested on Pakistan’s Constitution and a 2016 decision in which the court emphasized that the state is “to ensure that [...]
Pakistan rights group: country failing to address human rights issues
The government of Pakistan has failed to resolve several human rights issues within the past year, according to a report released Monday by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) . According to the HRCP, issues such...
Pakistani Law Minister Zahid Hamid on Monday resigned from his office after a three week long protest against the changed wording of an electoral oath. The main opposition group protesting the change, Tehreek-e-Labaik ,...
