The President of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani has spoken out this week about the case of Asia Bibi, who is still waiting to hear if she will face the death penalty for allegedly breaking Pakistan’s blasphemy laws. Mr Tajani spoke about Asia’s plight at the...
A Pakistani Christian man with mental health issues has been sentenced to life imprisonment for blasphemy. In June 2015 Yaqoob Bashir, 25, was accused of burning a booklet that carried Quranic verses. According to reports he had been receiving treatment at a mental health facility in Hyderabad...
Foreign Affairs officers have raised the case with high-ranking Pakistani officials twice in the past five weeks. Senior diplomat Simon Merrifield discussed the matter with Pakistan's high commissioner earlier this month. His approach came after Australia's ambassador for women and girls, along with the high commissioner to...
Thousands of Islamist hardliners protested in Lahore in October 12 as Pakistan awaits a ruling on Asia Bibi’s case.The Christian woman has been on death row since 2010 after being convicted of blasphemy. The rally was organised by anti-blasphemy party Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP), and was supported...
The Prevention of Electronic Crimes (Amendment) Bill 2018 reportedly recommends sentencing those who disrespect the Quran to life in prison, while a person committing blasphemy or making false blasphemy accusations should be hanged to death. It also suggests someone making derogatory statements against religious scholars be...
On August 27 the Pakistani Senate unanimously adopted a resolution against the blasphemous caricature competition in the Netherlands. The resolution was tabled by newly elected Leader of the House Shibli Faraz, who strongly condemned the Dutch lawmaker’s act and urged the government to summon the Dutch...
Young Pakistani students have taken to the streets to protest against the blasphemy law On August 8 both Muslim and Christian students demonstrated against the death of Qutub Rind who was killed on 17th July. But his killers remain unpunished They were asking the government to repeal the...
Pakistani Christian, Farhan Aziz, 25, of Muslim Town, Gujranwala was charged under blasphemy law 295 – C of Pakistan Penal Code and section of Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016 10 (a) (b) on August 2. Farhan is accused of sending blasphemous text messages. He was...
On June 19, Asia Bibi marked spending nine years in prison for a crime she has always denied. She was arrested on 19 June 2009 when she was accused on charges of blasphemy following a complaint by her Muslim co-worker after an argument about drinking from...
On May 17 Pakistani Christian Sharoon Timotheus Nasir who was jailed over blasphemy charges died in Gujranwala jail. He was charged under blasphemy law’s section 295-A last November. He was 38 years old, and a married father of three teenage children - one daughter and two sons. Sharoon...