Islamic extremists have murdered a Pakistan man after mistaking him for his brother who had been accused of blasphemy against Islam.

Simon Emmanuel was the brother of Younis Tasadaq, who was imprisoned in 1998 on charges that he had committed blasphemy against Islam. Due to pressure from human rights organizations, however, Tasadaq was released and fled to the United States in 1999. Last year, he decided to visit his ailing mother, and when certain extremist Muslims found out about his arrival, they decided to kill him. At midnight on January 9, 2008 a group of extremists arrived at the house where Tasadaq was staying and shot his older brother to death, mistaking him for Tasadaq.

The Pakistan police in the area attempted to cover up the shooting by treating it as a suicide case and did not register a case against the killers.

Anwar Masih, a Christian resident of Shahdara near Lahore, was fired from his job in November 2007 and continues to receive death threats from religious fanatics even though the Lahore High Court declared him innocent of blasphemy charges in December 2004.

Masih reportedly asked his formerly Christian neighbor, Chaudhary Naseer, why he had grown a beard (a symbol of Islam) and converted to Islam in August 2003. They exchanged hard words, and some time later Naseer alleged that Masih made insulting remarks against Muhammad and other prophets of Islam. As a result, police arrested Masih and took him to jail in November 2003.

The Lahore High Court acquitted Masih from the blasphemy charges on December 24, 2004. However, Masih still faces discrimination for his Christian faith and receives death threats for simply being charged with insulting the prophet Muhammad. His life is still in danger. Sadly, this is too often the case for anyone accused of blasphemy in Pakistan, regardless of whether they are exonerated of such charges.

Masih said that soon after his release from jail, he took shelter in Lahore with a Christian NGO and went underground due to the fear of being murdered by Muslim fanatics. Masih said that he restarted his career as a technician in a local factory in August 2005. However, he was fired from that job in November 2007 when the factory administration found out about the charges he had faced. He said the factory administration was threatened with deadly consequences by unknown persons for employing a "blasphemer," who demanded that they fire him immediately.

Anwar Masih still lives in hiding and moves from one village to another because he fears for his life.

According to data collected by the National Commission for Justice and Peace, 892 individuals were charged under the blasphemy laws from 1986 to December 2007.

Pakistani police rescued a man claiming to be a spiritual healer from a lynch mob in Orangi after they attempted to set him on fire.

Abdul Jabbar who claims to be a spiritual healer, was supposedly found setting pages from the Holy Quran on fire. His accomplice Naimatullah presumed to be his devotee was also present at the occasion.

Nearby residents saw smoke rising from Jabbar’s den and upon inspection, they claimed blasphemy. The residents informed more people and soon a large mob gathered around Jabbar’s den. The angry mob started torturing Jabbar and his accomplice and later attempted to burn them alive after someone from the crowd suggested that they should throw both the men in the blazing fire inside the den.

The police found out about the incident and arrived in time to save the two men from being thrown into the fire.

At least three thousand people gathered around the den to kill and burn them, SHO Fasih-uz-Zaman told Daily Times. We reached there on time otherwise they would have been brunt alive, said the police officer.

According to the police officer, Jabbar had set alight the Quranic verses for a spell. On the contrary Jabbar denied allegation saying that he had set fire to garbage which also ended up engulfing the papers with sacred verses on them.

The police found material that Jabbar had been supposedly using for black magic and reciting spells. An incident report was filed on behalf of a resident named Qaiser Ayub against Jabbar and his accomplice Naimatullah.

The Federal Minister for Minorities, Shahbaz Bhatti, has said that Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy laws will be abolished.

The minister said he was struggling to ensure religious freedom, human dignity and social justice in Pakistani society: Religious minorities have been neglected, victimized and oppressed in Pakistan. They have faced constitutional and institutionalized discrimination and inequality but our government is committed to address the long-standing issues of minorities. We are making all-out efforts to uplift and empower minorities.

On January 14, a group of Christian lawyers from different parts of Pakistan held a meeting in Islamabad to discuss the issues being faced by religious minorities of Pakistan. The lawyers discussed minorities-related problems at length. The meeting also discussed steps taken by the Pakistan Peoples Party government for the betterment of religious minorities of Pakistan.

Pakistan has promised before but getting blasphemy laws repealed is easier said than done

More than 100 protestors last week surrounded a Pakistani courthouse and chanted death threats against a Punjabi Christian said to be framed for sending a blasphemous text message on his cell phone.

Rawalpindi police arrested Hector Aleem on Jan. 22 and detained him on charges of sending a text message that insulted Muhammad.

At his Jan. 27 hearing at the Rawalpindi Sessions Court, crowds gathered and began shouting death threats.

His attorney, Malik Tafik, told Compass that a local man allegedly framed Aleem for the charges because Aleem has made legal challenges on behalf of Christians involved in a land dispute. Aleem directs a small agency that often defends the rights of Christians.

Last November, a scholar associated with the national Islamist political movement Sunni Tehreek received a text message claiming to have come from Aleem. The religious scholar registered blasphemy charges against Aleem.

Police raided Aleem’s house and authorities charged him with violating sections 295c (blasphemy) and 109bb (abetting) of the Pakistani criminal code. Aleem was transferred to a Rawalpindi anti-terrorism court for a second hearing on Jan. 30, where an even larger crowd of 150 protestors gathered shouting that his life would not be spared. Many of those who came to protest were associated with Sunni Tehreek, which has been involved in violent sectarian clashes with other Islamist movements in the last decade.

At a hearing at an anti-terrorism court on Feb. 2, Judge Sakhi Mohammad Kohut exonerated him of blasphemy charges but did not clear him of abetting. A government official told Compass that the judge’s decision was heavily influenced by Islamic extremists attending the open court hearing who told the judge, If you release [Aleem], then we will kill him outside.

The next hearing will be held in March. Attorney Tafik told Compass he believes Aleem will be cleared of all charges because there is no evidence against him.

Update: Murderous Lawyers

10th May 2009. See article from compassdirect.org

A Pakistani Christian charged with abetting blasphemy against Islam was denied bail for his own safety last week after a muslim lawyer allegedly threatened his life in a court hearing.

If the judge does not punish Aleem according to the law, then [we] will kill him ourselves, said Tariq Dhamal, an attorney for the unnamed complainant, according to a report by the Centre for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement.

Aleem’s lawyer, Malik Tafik, said the judge is afraid to rule in favor of Aleem for fear of his life from Rawalpindi muslims: The judge is under pressure and not deciding the case based on merits.

Two female Christian students of Fatima Memorial Hospital’s nursing school in the Pakistani city of Lahore, have been accused of desecrating verses of the Quran, the Muslim holy book, days after their Muslim roommates desecrated a picture of Jesus Christ which they had hung in a shared hostel room.

ANS has learnt that some days back the Muslim nursing students took a strong exception to the hanging of Jesus’ picture on the wall. Muslim students desecrated the picture by tearing it up and hurling it down after the Christian students refused to remove it voluntarily.

The administration of the Nursing School allegedly took no action against the Muslim students, who committed the alleged profanity.

Christian-Muslim tension among students of the nursing school escalated on Feb. 13 when the Muslim students, who still harboured acrimony against their Christian roommates, inevitably accusing them of desecrating Quranic verses.

The death penalty is now mandatory for blasphemy, under Article 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code. The option of a life term for a person convicted on the charge has been taken away. This has come about purely on the basis of a technicality.

The Supreme Court's Shariat Appellate Bench dismissed an appeal against a 1990 Federal Shariat Court ruling making death compulsory.

The results of this verdict are potentially dire. The fact is that for any person accused of blasphemy, the possibility of obtaining a fair hearing have over the past decade or so become slimmer and slimmer with each passing year. Each time an accusation is made, an environment of hostility is quickly whipped up – often by extremist forces – creating a highly charged atmosphere. Neither the police nor the lower judiciary is able to function independently or without bias, and courts at the district and sessions level repeatedly pass the maximum sentence – if only because judges fear for their lives.

To make the situation still worse is the fact that the blasphemy law has been abused more and more often. All too often they have been accused on the basis of petty disputes – a bid to settle a business dispute; a plot to grab property or simply to seek revenge for some trivial act.

The change in the provisions of Article 295-C are alarming and should serve as another reminder of the need to amend this flawed piece of legislation.

Pakistani Muslims in a town outside of Lahore this month overran a courtroom in hopes of swaying a judge in a blasphemy case against a Christian couple, and a member of the prosecution later threatened to kill the wife.

Some 50 molvis (Muslim clergy) on May 14 burst into the courtroom in Mustafabad, where a bail hearing was taking place in the case against Munir Masih and his wife Ruqiya Bibi, according to the Centre for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS).

The molvis said: No non-Muslim has the right to keep a Quran in his house, they have done this so they are liable to be punished.

Masih and Bibi, both in their 30s, were originally accused under section 295-B of Pakistan’s penal code with defiling the Quran by touching it with unwashed hands on Dec. 8 of last year. Masih was taken to prison and remained there until Jan. 22, when a Muslim neighbor who had asked him to store some of his possessions, including his Quran, testified on his behalf and the case was dropped.

The complainant, Mohammad Nawaz, subsequently filed another accusation on Feb. 12, this time under 295-C, blasphemy against Muhammad, Islam’s prophet. This charge carries a death sentence, whereas defiling the Quran calls for life imprisonment.

Despite pressure from the crowd of clerics, Judge Shafqat Ali – also a molvi – granted the couple bail. Following the hearing, however, a member of the prosecution team approached Bibi outside the courtroom and threatened to kill her: Whatever the decision, we will kill you.

Charges of blasphemy are common in Pakistan and particularly incendiary, often leading to strong shows of religious zeal. It is not uncommon for sections 295-B and 295-C of the Pakistani penal code to be invoked in retaliation for personal grievances.

A factory owner and two others were murdered when factory workers attacked them for allegedly desecrating the holy Quran, reported a private TV channel.

One report said the owner and the other two were killed over the factory administration’s failure to pay workers, but another reported said the attack was prompted by an allegation that the factory owner – identified only as Najeebullah – had desecrated the holy Quran.

A worker entered Najeebullah’s factory at around 2pm and saw that the owner had taken down an outdated calendar – which had verses from the holy Quran written on it – and put it on a table. The worker claimed that this was desecration of the holy Quran. When a guard tried to stop him, he ran out into the working area and started gathering his colleagues, claiming the owner had committed blasphemy.

When an enraged mob subsequently surrounded Najeebullah, his guard tried to protect him by firing in the air, but the crowd started firing shots at the owner and his guard.

The channel said a large number of workers also attacked the factory administration and beat up several employees. They also blocked the road leading to the factory for three hours and later set the unit on fire.

No intention to change Pakistan's much abused blasphemy laws

Based on article from pakistanchristianpost.com

A Delegation of UK Pakistani Christians was stunned when Wajid Shams-ul-Hassan, Pakistani High Commissioner in UK, openly denied any intention of government of Pakistan to repeal blasphemy law.

The Pakistani High Commissioner in UK condemned attacks on Christians in Pakistan and assured to adopt security measures for Christians in Pakistan.

A Delegation of UK Pakistan Christians called on Pakistani High Commission to express their anger on burning of Christians alive in Pakistan on August 3, 2009. The delegation was led by James Shera former mayor of Rugby along with many other organizations of Christians.

The Christian delegation was of view that blasphemy law is being misused by Islamic extremists creating miseries for Christians and recent wake of violence is also on allegations of blasphemy.

Pakistan's Minister for Minorities Affairs, Shahbaz Bhatti has said the government was in process of drafting a Minorities Protection Bill to safeguarded their rights.

All religious scholars are being taken on-board as their suggestions would be incorporated and later the Bill would be presented in the parliament for approval.

The Minister said the government was fully committed to safeguarding the rights of minorities living in Pakistan and taking concrete steps to provide basic rights to every minority community.

He said to address minorities issues, peace committees are being established at tehsil and district levels that will review blasphemy act or any material used to spread anarchy in the society through negative speeches.

Hector Aleem was arrested in January 2009 on a blasphemy charge. My father was given bail but now many other cases are being lodged against Hector Aleem by the FIA (federal investigation agency).

On 24 April 2009 inspector Raja Wajid and Ahmed Ali went to the Adiala Jail to meet Hector Aleem. There they threatened him that they will lodge so many cases against Hector that he will not be able to bear these cases.

On 4th May 2009 they lodged cases against him and took him to the Sadiqabad police station, there many members of Sunni tehreek and maulvies were present and they beat Hector together and tortured him they took him to the roof and tried to throw him down, than they made him naked and spat on him and abused him and called him CHOORA (the toilet cleaner). They kept him in the custody for 4 days now they are continuously filing the cases against him and after every 15 or 20 days they file another case on him and take him to the police station and beat him.

FIA is the most corrupt agency of Pakistan; it’s their way to trap people. There are many examples of Christian who visits any foreign country and when they come back to Pakistan FIA (Federal Investigation agency) arrest them, beat them and arrest them in the offence of human trafficking. Why not any Muslim is arrested in this case? because now days Pakistan is no more than a hell for Christians, the recent situation and some previous incidents shows that blasphemy is too easy, it’s a tool for Muslims to beat and destroy Christian.

FIA is now supporting the Sunni Tehreek; they are doing this together. When Hector was in FIA lock up, the members of Sunni tehreek were continuously saying that give him to us, we will take him to swat and there our brother Talibans will kill him because he has done the blasphemy.

When Hector was arrested in a blasphemy case there was no proof against him and now there isn’t any proof against these FIA cases also. They are filing these cases against him because they wanted to show the world that Hector is a criminal. 

Hector’s life is under threat, one day they will kill him in the jail. I am telling you that one day this will happen so please it’s my request to pressurize the government to release him because there are many examples of blasphemy victims who were killed by the policemen.

So I really want you all to think about his situation. And pray for him and his family and if possible please pressurize the government of Pakistan to release Hector Aleem.

I am working alone and there is no one to help me, please help me and do something in favour of Mr. Hector Aleem.

Yet another Christian, was beaten and imprisoned and is facing a possible ‘death penalty’ over false blasphemy charges in Pakistan.

International Christian Concern (ICC) reported that the Christian teen Safian Masih from Gujranwala city in Punjab province lived in a mixed neighborhood of both Christians and Muslims. On 8 August, the young daughter of one of his Muslim neighbors demanded that Safian bring her items from the grocery store. Safian refused, and she slapped him. Safian slapped her back, and the argument escalated to include both families, it said.

After the altercation, the girl’s parents accused Safian of trying to rape their daughter. When other Muslims heard this, they gathered and severely beat him. After beating him, they submitted a report to the police accusing Safian of rape, and had him handed over
to police custody and jail, the report stated.

According to ICC source, two days later, on 10 August, the Muslims changed their story and accused Safian of blasphemy instead of rape. They claimed that the girl was attending a madrassa to learn about the Qur’an, and that when Safian encountered her he took her Qur’an and tore out its pages. After hearing this accusation, some Muslims attacked Safian again and beat him so badly that they forced him to “admit” that he had “blasphemed” the Qur’an. They then handed him over to the police again.

On 14 August, a Muslim mob gathered and demanded that Safian be put to death for blasphemy, the report said. The mob also threatened to kill anyone who helped Safian or his family.

Washington D.C-based ICC, a Christian advocacy for persecuted Christians around the world has strongly condemned the blasphemy charge and imprisonment of the young Pakistani Christian.

ICC’s Jonathan Racho said: In Pakistan, Christians live as second-class citizens and repeatedly face violence from the Muslims majority. Muslims easily exacerbate small disagreements and call for the execution or even murder of Christians. While ICC does not condone Safian’s slapping of a Muslim girl, it is unconscionable for Muslims to call for his death.

Somali Islamists publicly chopped off the right hands of two men in Mogadishu, a sign the hardline Shebab militia is imposing Sharia law in areas of the capital under its control.

The Sharia court found the two men guilty of breaking into houses and stealing property. They admitted to the charges against them, said Sheikh Abdibasit Mohamed, an Islamic court judge in the north of Mogadishu: Therefore each one of them gets his right hand amputated according to the Islamic Sharia.

The two men in their late 20s screamed loudly as the punishment was administered by knife, and were taken to hospital for treatment. A teenager was also publicly punished, receiving 100 lashes over allegations that he raped a young girl.

A Muslim mob turned violent in Pakistan burning homes, setting one Church on fire and tortured Christians of Jhethe Key village while police opened fire on Christian protesters.

As news of attack on Christians spread in Sialkot city, hundreds of Christian youth gathered on a road which leads to village Jhethe Key. The Christians were demanding lift siege of village by the administration and allow them to visit their friends and relatives whose fate was unclear.

The Muslim radicals attacked Christians after a teenage girl of village accused a Christian boy to push her in street which supposedly caused her Quran to fall down a drain.

The Muslim cleric and lynch mob leader in village Jhethe Key announced at local mosque to gather and attack Christians who were accused of desecrating the Quran.

According to PCP sources, a Muslim mob torched homes and a Church. The Christians of village were also beaten and firearms were used by Muslim rioters.

The recent attack on Christians in village of Sialkot was preplanned by Muslim extremists and was the fourth such attack in two months. How many homes are burnt and how many Christians are injured by Muslims village Jhethe Key is unknown as a PCP correspondent was denied entry to village and Muslim owned electronic media are not covering the incident.

Update: Blasphemy Victim Murdered in Jail

16th September 2009. Based on article from christianpost.com

Robert Danish, a Pakistani Christian youth jailed for allegedly desecrating Quran was found dead inside prison on Saturday morning.

We believe he was killed by Muslim police officials, one of the relatives of the Christian youth was quoted as saying by Pakistan Christian Post. What has surprised Christians and the family of Robert is that he was killed in a special security zone of Sialkot Central Jail on Saturday.

The prison authorities are claiming that Danish killed himself.

Robert Danish, also known as Falish Masih was arrested by police on 11 September after Mohammad Asghar Ali, resident of village Jhethey Key lodged a complaint against him. Mohammad Asghar Ali, the village barber accused Robert Danish of pushing his daughter Hina Ali on the way, letting her drop the Quran in side-drain, thus desecrating the holy book of Muslim. It happened when Hina, who is also rumoured to have an affair Robert was coming home after Quran recitation.

Earlier, the Muslims of the village also accused Robert Danish of having an affair with Hina and threatening to kill him if he will not leave her, that may have prompted the girl’s father to implicate him, the report said.

Update: Violence at Funeral

18th September 2009. Thanks to Alan
Based on article from christianpost.com.
See also article from asianews.it

Violence broke out in certain parts of Pakistan even as Christians buried Robert Masih who was mysteriously found dead at his jail cell a day earlier in Sialkot, in the eastern province of Punjab.

Sources said hundreds of people attended Masih's funeral. Dozens of young mourners began pelting stones at police, who resorted to lathi-charge and fired tear gas into the crowd in Sialkot.

Reacting to the public outcry, the Punjab government Wednesday suspended jail superintendent and his deputy over Masih's death, according to Press Trust of India.

Pakistan Christian Congress (PCC) has given Pakistani official an ultimatum earlier this month to repeal the law by 25 September. Pakistani government last week said it is reviewing the blasphemy law, but gives no time-frame, causing more frustration for Christians.

PCC has demanded a full inquiry to the mysterious death of the Christian youth and the justice be brought to the family of the victims.

The inspector general of prisons for Punjab Province, Kokab Nadeem Warriach, declined to say whether he believed that Fanish’s death was allowed or perpetrated by police guards. He said in a telephone interview to the New York Times that three prison officials had been suspended, and that the investigation ordered by the provincial government would conclude this week.

Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer has suggested repealing of the blasphemy law to protect the minorities.

The blasphemy law should be repealed to protect the religious minorities, particularly in the wake of increasing incidents of Christians’ persecution by religious extremists, he said this while replying to reporters’ queries.

...BUT...

Based on article from dailytimes.com.pk

Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain said his party would protest if any changes were made to the country’s blasphemy laws, a private TV channel reported.

He said defending the blasphemy laws was the duty of every Muslim. According to the channel, Shujaat pledged that his party would resist any attempt to annul the law, adding that appropriate solution should instead be reached to prevent the abuse of blasphemy laws.

The Rt Rev Michael Jackson, Chair of the Network for Inter Faith Concerns of the Anglican Communion, and Dr Musharraf Hussain, Chair of the Christian Muslim Forum initiated the online petition Safety and respect for Christians in Pakistan on behalf of the Anglican Communion.

The petition states: The attacks on Christians, and on occasions also on Muslims, facilitated as they are by the law on blasphemy, are very damaging to the reputation of Pakistan and indeed to the reputation of Muslims which we wish to see restored.

It has been signed by over 2,000 people, among them Christians and Muslims, from 20 countries around the world including Pakistan. Twenty bishops have also added their names in support of the petition.

Sign the petition

Pakistan's leaders have been hinting at changes to this lynch mob fuelling monstrosity of a law ever since it was enacted. But there is no way that the religious leaders will ever let it go. It is so integral to subjugation of the people of Pakistan that it will stay on the books for as long as islam is the dominant religion.

Update: Death Threats

13th September 2009:  See article from catholicculture.org

Shahbaz Bhatti, a Catholic who serves as minorities minister for the Pakistani government, has disclosed that he has been "receiving death threats and phone calls from extremists for a long time" because of his efforts to protect the rights of the country's Christian minority. Bhatti has been a leader in the campaign to reform Pakistan's blasphemy laws, which are frequently used as the pretext for assaults on Christians. He was also highly visible in condemning the mob violence against Christians in Gojra in August.

Update: Death by Committee

13th September 2009:  See article from dailytimes.com.pk

The National Assembly Standing Committee on Minorities called for an overall review of the blasphemy law on Saturday and formed a sub-committee to submit recommendations on the matter. The new committee will be headed by Pakistan People’s Party member Nafisa Shah and will submit recommendations on the matter.

Update: Presidential Support

23rd September 2009:  Based on article from asianews.it

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari said that his government would ensure that the blasphemy law is not misused by anyone. He made the statement after a series of very serious episodes of religious intolerance and persecution and after a number of prominent political leaders asked for changes to the law.

Zardari discussed the issue in London, where he met Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and acknowledged that extremists were misusing the law.

The law punishes any offense against religion and anyone trying to convert others. Muslim extremists, often with the complicity of police and local authorities, have used it to persecute and jail non-Muslims, especially Christians, and moderate Muslims.

A wind of change appears to blowing across the country and even a sizable section of the press has come out against the law. In an editorial article, the Daily Times wrote on 17 September that Christians killed in the name of Islam never get justice. The only way an accused can be saved is to bundle him out of the country after releasing him on bail.

Another editorial that appeared on 18 September in the Dawn said that the Punjab government needs to take urgent steps to protect minorities in the province for the situation there is deteriorating. The centre, meanwhile, should start working towards the repeal of the blasphemy laws. For too long they have been used to settle personal scores, grab land and to kill. These draconian laws must be struck off the books.

U.S. lawmakers want Pakistan to do more to fight religious intolerance, saying the issue should play a bigger role in U.S. assistance to and engagement with Pakistan in coming years. Witnesses at a congressional hearing testified that Pakistan's blasphemy laws encourage extremism.

Pakistan's blasphemy laws, which carry a potential death penalty for derogatory remarks or actions against Islam, the Koran or the Prophet Muhammad, have long been controversial within and outside the country.

Congressmen are supporting a non-binding resolution introduced in the House of Representatives by Christopher Smith, who says radicalism poses a threat to Islam: In the intermediate and long-term, certainly these radical Islamic jihadists and others are the greatest threat to Islam and to believers such as yourselves..

The resolution says U.S. non-military assistance, which will triple over the next five years, must support an interfaith dialogue begun by Pakistan's Minister of Minorities Affairs Shabaz Bhatti, and help the government counter religiously-motivated hostility and violence.

It also urges Pakistan to repeal the anti-blasphemy laws, and investigate acts and punish perpetrators of religiously-motivated violence.

The blasphemy law, and to be persecuting people because of their faith, we want a great relationship with Pakistan, but I think this is just unacceptable, said Republican Representative Frank Wolf, who is among lawmakers supporting Smith's resolution.

Representatives Smith and Wolf are urging President Barack Obama's Special Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke, to elevate the importance of the religious tolerance issue where U.S-Pakistan relations are concerned.

The Karachi'ites have vowed that they will sacrifice their lives but will not accept any amendment to the blasphemy law, let alone its repeal.

They warned the rulers not to take any step to amend or repeal the law, otherwise countrywide protest will be started. This was stated by the leaders of Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan and religious scholars in a Tahaffuz-e-Namoos-e-Risalat rally.

Thousands of Karachiites were participated in the rally to condemn the conspiracy to amend or repeal the blasphemy law. Addressing the massive rally, JUP President Dr Abul Khair said that they had suffered all kinds of hardships but they had asked the rulers that they would not tolerate any amendment or repealing of the blasphemy law.

The JUP chief said that Kerry-Lugar Bill was the conspiracy against the Pakistan Armed Forces, nuclear programme and the sovereignty of the country.

Shah Anas Noorani said that through the Bill, US wanted to control the internal affairs of the country. The US want to amend the blasphemy law and control the nuclear programme of Pakistan. He termed that this is an evil bill and asked the government to stop their policies of appeasing the US and other foreign countries.

The meeting, which was held to discuss and recommend amendments to the blasphemy laws - ended without coming up with any suggestions and was postponed till January 2010.

In the two-day long meeting that was organised by the federal ministry for religious affairs in Islamabad, 33 members of national assembly, members of provincial assemblies belonging to religious minorities from all four provinces and about 25 senators and representatives of different religions participated.

We have discussed all aspects of the 295B and 295C of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) that refer to blasphemy laws and during the meeting, almost every participant agreed that these sections were misused against religious minorities, and therefore we are discussing these laws and bringing a draft to change them, said Federal Minister for Minority Affairs Shahbaz Bhatti.

We have asked assembly members to discuss the issue with the leadership of their parties and then a draft would be prepared, so that when it would be brought in the national assembly, it has the support of all political parties, therefore we have postponed the meeting till January 2010, he said.

The blasphemy laws are one of the most inflexible pieces of legislation. Several people belonging to religious minorities have been killed or sent to jail under the allegations of committing a blasphemous act. The minorities have suffered severely in the Punjab and Sindh, where Christians and Hindus are respectively the biggest religious minorities.

Not a single person has so far been proven to have committed a blasphemous act, and no one can even imagine saying a single word that may dishonour the holy book of any religion, said Bhatti, adding that usually these sections are used for personal enmity. We want to change the misuse of these sections of law for which we have decided to contact the religious scholars of Islam, civil society and people from different fields of life so that harmony between different religions could be promoted, he said.

Religious parties have warned the government that they will not accept any move to repeal or amend the blasphemy law.

The Jamaat Ahl-e-Hadith Pakistan and the Tehreek Tahafuz-e-Haqooq Ahl-e-Sunnat organised religious conventions on Saturday to condemn suggestions by the government to amend the act.

They said the government must not amend the law if it wants to remain in power. They said those who believed in Islam would come out onto the streets if a single change was made.

The campaign to raise awareness about Pakistan's blasphemy laws, launched by Christian activists in association with AsiaNews, has moved to Geneva, Switzerland, for the opening of the second UN Forum on Minority Issues.

The delegation representing the National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) of the Pakistani Catholic Church will take part in two days of meetings with representatives of governments, UN agencies, national human rights organisations and non-governmental organisations. The theme of the forum is Minorities and Effective Political Participation.

This political battle is conducted at the same time as that against blasphemy laws, which impose life in prison or death on anyone who desecrates or defiles the Qur'an or the name of the Prophet Muhammad, a legal tool used by Muslim extremists to strike at minorities and further Islamise the country.

The recommendations made by Christian activists include the repeal of constitutional and legal discrimination, including the blasphemy laws, which bar members of minorities from holding certain public offices such as the presidency, the post of prime minister, that of provincial governor, etc.

A young Christian man was behind bars after being sentenced to life imprisonment for having supposedly insulted and desecrated the Koran.

A court in the town of Faisalabad sentenced Imran Masih, under controversial blasphemy legislation which has been criticizedby international rights groups.

Judge, Raja Ghazanfar Ali Khan, handed down the sentence under Article 295-Bof the Pakistan Penal Code because the 26 year old allegedly burnt verses from the Koran and a book in Arabic on purpose, to stir up religious hatred and offend the feelings of Muslims, trial observers said.

Peter Jacob, executive secretary of the National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) of the Catholic Church,suggested that his organization would appeal against the verdict, saying it was important to battle to save his life.

Christians said Masih, a shopkeeper by profession, was brutally tortured by a group of Muslims in July last year before being detained by police on what they described as fabricated charges that he had burned pages of the Koran.

The Pakistan government plans to revise its laws against blasphemy within this year, Minority Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti has said.

Bhatti said he has been in talks with political parties to have the blasphemy law revised by the end of 2010.

Bhatti said the revision would require judges to investigate cases before they are registered – which would keep check on police, who are often accused of abuse. The revised laws would also mete out punishments to anyone who makes a false complaint, he said.

Leaders and representatives of over 30 religious parties of the country reiterated the universal stance of Muslim world that blasphemy of any kind was warrants capital punishment. The leaders stressed that neither rulers nor legislature or any court had the power to amend blasphemy law.

The leaders regretted that pro-west ruling elite of Pakistan had been from time to time trying to amend blasphemy laws. They warned the government that a movement would be launched in case rulers tried to carry out such unholy designs. They warned rulers against unholy wishes and asked them to rein in Punjab Governor Salman Taseer and some ministers who had been issuing irresponsible statements creating unrest.

The group also warned rulers against giving lukewarm response to the deliberate and blatant blasphemies committed by the European press in the name of freedom of expression.

As the residents of a village near Kasur have demonstrated — with fatal consequences — there is little that is as explosive as anger ignited by religious passions.

In yet another incident of a frenzied mob out to punish alleged blasphemy, a young man was beaten to death after his father reportedly claimed that he was the last prophet of Islam. The alleged blasphemer — an illiterate brick-kiln worker-turned-faith healer — is in police custody and other members of his family are in hiding. Their lives may still be in danger as reports from the area suggest that public anger has not subsided.

The incident is part of an established pattern. Propelled and led by religious leaders, an angry mob takes the law into its own hands to punish alleged blasphemers. The authorities almost always fail to defuse the situation.

In its attempts to Islamise society over the years, especially during the Zia era, the state has come to a point where it is not able to rein in the obscurantist forces of its own creation. It has lost its authority to challenge the semi-literate maulvis who do more harm than good.

Few things have fed such forces more than the blasphemy laws. Since the mid-1980s when these laws were introduced, blasphemy cases have grown exponentially. Many alleged blasphemers have died, mostly at the hands of mobs, much before their case was heard or decided. These laws have been used as weapons for personal, political, social and economic victimisation.

Efforts must be made towards the repeal of the blasphemy laws if the state is serious about dousing religious anger before it is consumed by it.

International Christian Concern (ICC) is calling for Pakistani officials to release a Christian man who is serving life imprisonment in Pakistan following false allegations of blasphemy.

A Pakistani court sentenced Imran Masih to life imprisonment and fined him 100,000 Pakistani Rupees [$1182] on January 11, after his Muslim neighbor, Hajji Liaquat, accused him of burning the Qur'an.

On July 1, 2009, Masih was cleaning his shop when he came across Arabic literature. Before trashing it, he asked his Muslim neighbor, Liaquat, whether the book was Islamic literature. Liaquat assured him that it was not an Islamic book. However, after Masih burned the book, Liaquat showed the half-burned book to passersby and accused Masih of desecrating the Qur'an. Later, the local mosques incited Muslims to attack Masih by announcing that he had desecrated the Qur'an.

Masih ran for his life and hid at his house before the police arrived and arrested him. At the time of arrest, a mob of 400 Muslims had gathered outside Masih's home. The mob was able to overpower the police and attack him.

According to the family, Liaquat falsely accused Masih of desecrating the Qur'an because he wanted to rent the shop that Masih rented to run his business.

Another christian has been sentence to life imprisonment for supposed blasphemy in Pakistan.

Qamar David was sentenced to life imprisonment by in Karachi under blasphemy laws; Sections 298, 295-A and 295-C of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), while a co-accused, Munwar Ahmed, a Muslim, was acquitted.

David was arrested in 2006 for allegedly sending blasphemous messages from his mobile phone.

Kamran Khan, a Christian leader from Karachi, said that acquittal of the co-accused on grounds of benefit of doubt rise to doubts about the impartiality of the trial.

A group of Christians organized a protest rally outside Karachi Press Club on Feb. 28 against the court's verdict. The protest rally was organized by the Save the Churches' Property Welfare Association and the United Church of Christ.

According to the verdict, a SIM card was found in possession of the convict and the data produced by the cellular company established that messages were sent from the seized SIM. Police registered a case against David on the complaint of Khurshid Ahmed Khan, a Muslim.

Qamar David will appeal against the court's verdict, according to his lawyer.

A 'court' in Punjab, have convicted a Christian couple, Munir Masih and Ruqqiya Bibi, to 25 years in prison.

According to the Centre for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS), Judge Ajmal Hussein convicted the couple for touching the Koran without washing their hands.

Munir Masih and Ruqqiya Bibi were released on bail last January, but were re-arrested after the judge ruled against them.

The incident, which dates back to December 2008, unleashed the fury of Muslim extremists who put pressure on police. Unconfirmed reports suggest that extremists paid off police agents to discover new evidence to justify the sentence.

At the end of the police investigation, husband and wife were charged with blasphemy. The blasphemy law is the harshest tool for religious repression available in Pakistan. It was adopted in 1986 by then dictator Zia ul-Haq to protect Islam and Muhammad, from attacks and insults.

CLAAS announced that it was filing an appeal with the High Court in Lahore to have the 25-year sentence against Munir Masih and Ruqqiya Bibi overturned

Police in Alipur have arrested a Christian woman on a baseless accusation of blaspheming the Mohammed and tried to keep rights groups from discovering the detention, a Christian leader said. Related

Alipur police in Punjab Province denied that they had detained Rubina Bibi when Khalid Gill, Lahore regional coordinator of the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance (APMA) inquired about her detention after a Muslim woman accused her of blasphemy, Gill told Compass.

The Muslim woman's name was kept secret by the police and Muslim people, and we were not allowed to see the Christian woman, Gill said. The Alipur police said they had not arrested her yet, contrary to the fact that they had arrested and tortured her at Alipur police station.

A reliable police source told Compass on condition of anonymity that a First Information Report identified Rubina Bibi of Alipur, wife of Amjad Masih, as accused of making a derogatory remark about Muhammad. The charge comes under Section 295-C of Pakistan's blasphemy laws, which have gained international notoriety for their misuse by Muslims to settle personal grudges.

Police told Compass that the FIR was now sealed and no further information would be released to any person or news outlet.

APMA's Gill said the case registered against Rubina Bibi was without basis, growing out of a quarrel with her Muslim accuser over a minor domestic dispute. Condemning the arrest, Gill said a radical Muslim relative of the accuser, Sabir Munir Qadri, had turned the quarrel into a religious issue in which the Christian could be sentenced to death or life imprisonment with a large fine.