About the Law

A modern day scandal

Pakistan’s blasphemy laws carry strict punishments for anyone who is said to have “insulted Islam.” If someone is found guilty, punishments range from a heavy fine to the death penalty. All this is based on as little as one man’s testimony.

This leaves the blasphemy open to terrible abuses. Today the law is regularly used as the means waging personal vendettas, settling disputes.

And, again and again, the laws are used to persecute people from religious minorities. Pakistan’s 2.5 million Christians have suffered disproportionately, as have members of the Ahmadi Muslim sect.

The blasphemy laws and how it is used is highly contentious, both in Pakistan and around the world. The irony is that the original law was designed to promote tolerance…

The abuse of the laws

If you have got a grudge against your next door neighbour or co worker, you can report that they set light to the Q’ran. You don’t have to provide any evidence of this, your eyewitness testimony is often taken as sufficient. This is especially true if your neighbor belongs to a minority religious group, Christian, Ahmadi or Hindu.

The odds are stacked against you if you are accused.

You will be imprisoned without bail while you face trial. Your family might have to flee their home to avoid revenge attacks. Lawyers too can expect violent opposition if they agree to represent you in court. Both lawyers and politicians have been assassinated for speaking up on behalf of people accused of blasphemy.

Since the introduction of the 1986 clause, over 1,300 people have been charged with blasphemy. A number have been sentenced to death and remain in prison, on ‘death row’. So far no one has been formally executed. However a number of the accused have been murdered in extra-judicial killings. And the vigilante killers are rarely brought to justice.

An international consensus

Pakistan is a nation divided over the current blasphemy laws. Feelings run high on both sides. Nearly all the popular secular parties in Pakistan have talked about amending the current law. But none of them have got far – it is such a sensitive issue and you endanger your life by speaking out.

Despite this, the outcry against the blasphemy laws continues – both in Pakistan and around the world. It comes from Muslim religious scholars, religious leaders of all faiths, politicians, law courts, intellectuals and the general public.

“[…] people continue to use this law over petty disputes and to settle personal scores, without thinking of consequences that are often devastating… There is an urgent need for the Pakistani government to respond to the international calls and take all necessary steps to stop the ongoing misuse of the blasphemy law.”

Ahmed Shaheed, UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief, January 2017

“[…] the right to freedom of religion or belief, as enshrined in relevant international legal standards, does not include the right to have a religion or belief that is free from criticism or ridicule.”

General comment on the Right to Freedom of Expression of the UN Human Rights Committee, September 2011

“[…] it would be impermissible for any such laws to discriminate in favour of or against one or certain religions or belief systems […] Nor would it be permissible for such prohibitions to be used to prevent or punish criticism of religious leaders or commentary on religious doctrine and tenets of faith.”

Rabat Plan of Action, released by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, January 2013