On September 27, a court of first instance (session court) in Lahore sentenced a Muslim woman to death and fined 50,000 rupees (approximately 265 euros) for violating the blasphemy law. According to the prosecution, the woman, Salma Tanveer, “proclaimed herself a prophetess” and allegedly denied the prophet Muhammad’s prophecy, using derogatory comments against her
Hindus are Pakistan’s largest non-Muslim community, accounting for two to four percent of the country’s population.But Human Rights activists and International Human Rights Organizations appealed time and again that Pakistan’s goverment must respect the Hindu community’s right to freedom of religion and belief, including the right to build temples to practise it
All religious organizations and leaders have condemned the torture inflicted on the Christian nurse in hospital. The Government of Pakistan will not tolerate these abuses”. This is what Hafiz Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for Religious Harmony said. Hafiz Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi, Muslim cleric at the head of the Council of Ulema of Pakistan, expressed outrage and sorrow for the violent treatment of Tabitha Nazir Gill, a Christian accused of blasphemy on January 28 while working at Sobhraj Maternity Hospital, promising a thorough investigation into the incident, in order to verify any abuse
With a sensational about-face, the police registered case no. 74/21 against the Christian woman Tabitha Nazir Gill, according to article 295 C of the Pakistani Penal Code, that is, for “having used derogatory comments pronounced or written, directly or indirectly, which offend the name of Muhammad or the other prophets”. It is one of the articles of the infamous blasphemy law that makes so many victims in Pakistan and that is frequently abused and brought up for personal revenge
We appreciate the government’s renewed commitment to the protection of Pakistan’s religious minorities, especially the protection of those falsely accused and the protection of innocent underage girls trapped in forced conversions and forced marriages. The initiative of the Government Office for Interreligious Harmony will certainly strengthen peace and harmony between people of various religions and will lead people of religious minorities not to live in fear “
A recent surge in blasphemy cases against has raised concerns among human rights groups. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has reported more than 40 cases of blasphemy in Pakistan in the month of August alone