Blasphemy in Pakistan

For a list of blasphemy cases in Pakistan, see List of blasphemy cases in Pakistan.

The Pakistan Penal Code outlaws blasphemy (Urdu: قانون ناموس رسالت) against any recognized religion, with punishments ranging from a fine to the death penalty. According to various human rights organizations, Pakistan's blasphemy laws have been used to persecute religious minorities and settle personal rivalries, frequently against other Muslims, rather than to safeguard religious sensibilities.

From 1967 to 2014, over 1,300 people were accused of blasphemy, with Muslims constituting most of those accused.[1][2] Between 1987 and February 2021, at least 1,855 individuals were charged under Pakistan's blasphemy laws.[3]

Although death sentences for blasphemy have been issued on numerous occasions, no one has yet been executed by the order of the courts or government of Pakistan.[4][5] However, those accused of blasphemy are frequently targeted and killed by angry mobs before any trial can begin.[6]

At least 89 Pakistanis were extrajudicially killed over blasphemy accusations from 1947 to 2021.[7][8][9] Among the victims of such killings have been high profile Pakistanis such as Punjab Governor Salman Taseer,[10] Minister for Minorities Shahbaz Bhatti,[11][12] and high court justice Arif Iqbal Bhatti, who was slain in his chambers.[13]

According to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, as of early 2021, around 80 people are known to be incarcerated in Pakistan on blasphemy charges, with half of those facing life in prison or the death penalty.[14] As of 2023, there were at least 53 people in custody across Pakistan on blasphemy charges. [15]

Besides non-Muslim and Ahmadiyya minorities, Pakistan's minority Shias too are accused of blasphemy for their beliefs. Since 2001, more than 2,600 Shia Muslims have been killed in violent attacks in Pakistan. Many are buried in the Wadi-e-Hussain Cemetery, Karachi.[16]
  1. ^ "What are Pakistan's blasphemy laws?". BBC News. 6 November 2014. Archived from the original on 5 April 2019. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
  2. ^ Editorial (27 November 2021). "Living in fear". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  3. ^ "Pakistan Events of 2022". Human Rights Watch. 12 January 2023. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  4. ^ Ehrlich, Richard S. (24 September 2013). "Pakistan's blasphemy laws to require death sentence for false accusers". Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  5. ^ Baloch, Shah Meer; Ellis-Petersen, Hannah (19 January 2022). "Woman sentenced to death in Pakistan over 'blasphemous' WhatsApp activity". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  6. ^ Symington, Annabel (9 May 2014). "Increasing Violence in Pakistan Surrounding Blasphemy Cases Deters Opposition". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 24 April 2017 – via www.wsj.com.
  7. ^ "89 citizens killed over blasphemy allegations since 1947: report [by the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS)]". Dawn. 26 January 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  8. ^ Haq, Farhat (10 May 2019). Sharia and the State in Pakistan: Blasphemy Politics. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-429-61999-1.
  9. ^ Matt Hoffman, Modern Blasphemy Laws in Pakistan and the Rimsha Masih Case: What Effect—if Any—the Case Will Have on Their Future Reform, 13 WASH. U. GLOBALSTUD. L. REV. 371 (2014), [1]
  10. ^ Boone, Jon (12 March 2015). "Salmaan Taseer murder case harks back to 1929 killing of Hindu publisher". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  11. ^ "Pakistani Christian minister shot dead amid blasphemy row". EuroNews. March 2011. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  12. ^ "Killing of Pakistan Minister Highlights Peril of Questioning Blasphemy Laws". PBS News. 3 March 2011. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference Yasif-2012 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Asad, Tahir Naseer | Malik (8 January 2021). "Islamabad ATC sentences 3 to death for sharing blasphemous content on social media". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  15. ^ "Pakistan's blasphemy law: All you need to know". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  16. ^ Batool, Syeda Sana. "Wadi-e-Hussain: A graveyard for Pakistan's Shia victims". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 11 January 2021.