Blasphemy law in Pakistan

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The Islamic Republic of Pakistan uses its Criminal Code to prohibit and punish blasphemy. The Criminal Code provides penalties for blasphemy up to death and a fine. An accusation of blasphemy commonly subjects the accused, police, lawyers, and judges to harassment, threats, and attacks. An accusation is sometimes the prelude to vigilantism and rioting.

Contents

[edit] The Constitution

By its Constitution, the official name of Pakistan is the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. More than ninety-six percent of Pakistan's one hundred and sixty-seven million citizens (2008) are Muslims.[1] Among countries with a Muslim-majority, Pakistan has the strictest anti-blasphemy laws. The first purpose of those laws is to protect Islamic authority. By the Constitution (Article 2), Islam is the state religion. By the Constitution's Article 31, it is the country's duty to foster the Islamic way of life. By Article 33, it is the country's duty to discourage parochial, racial, tribal, sectarian, and provincial prejudices among the citizens.[2]

Judges need not be Muslim but few are not. Mr. Alvin Robert Cornelius, a Christian, was the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan in 1960. After General Zia-ul-Haq took power in the late 1970s, non-Muslim judges were very rare. In March 2007, a Hindu judge, Mr. Rana Bhagwandas, became the acting Chief Justice of Pakistan. In 2009, Mr. Jamshaid Rehmatullah, a Christian, became a judge of the High Court.[3]

[edit] The Blasphemy Laws

Several sections of Pakistan’s Criminal Code comprise its blasphemy laws.[4] § 295 forbids damaging or defiling a place of worship or a sacred object. § 295-A forbids outraging religious feelings. § 295-B forbids defiling the Quran. § 295-C forbids defaming Prophet Mohammed. Except for § 295-C, the provisions of § 295 require that an offence be a consequence of the accused's intent. Defiling the Quran merits imprisonment for life. Defaming Prophet Mohammed merits death with or without a fine. (See below Sharia.) If a charge is laid under § 295-C, the trial must take place in a Court of Session with a Muslim judge presiding.[5]

§ 298 states:

Whoever, with the deliberate intention of wounding the religious feelings of any person, utters any word or makes any sound in the hearing of that person or makes any gesture in the sight of that person or places any object in the sight of that person, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both.

§ 298-A prohibits the use of any derogatory remark or representation in respect of Muslim holy personages. § 298-B and § 298-C prohibit the Ahmadiyya from behaving as Muslims behave, calling themselves Muslims, proselytizing, or "in any manner whatsoever" outraging the religious feelings of Muslims. Violation of any part of § 298 makes the violator liable to imprisonment for up to three years and liable also to a fine.

No judicial execution of a person charged with blasphemy has occurred in Pakistan.[6] Article 45 of the Constitution says, "The President shall have power to grant pardon, reprieve and respite, and to remit, suspend or commute any sentence passed by any court, tribunal or other authority."

[edit] Sharia

The Federal Shariat Court (FSC) is a religious body which rules on whether any particular law is repugnant to the injunctions of Islam. If a law is repugnant to Islam, "the President in the case of a law with respect to a matter in the Federal Legislative List or the Concurrent Legislative List, or the Governor in the case of a law with respect to a matter not enumerated in either of those Lists, shall take steps to amend the law so as to bring such law or provision into conformity with the Injunctions of Islam" (Constitution, Article 203D). In October 1990, the FSC ruled that § 295-C was repugnant to Islam by permitting life imprisonment as an alternative to a death sentence. The Court said "the penalty for contempt of the Holy Prophet . . . is death."[7][8] The FSC ruled that, if the President did not take action to amend the law before 30 April 1991, then § 295-C would stand amended by its ruling.

Promptly after the FSC's ruling in 1990, Bishop Dani L. Tasleem filed an appeal in the Supreme Court of Pakistan, which has the power to overrule the FSC. In April 2009, the Shariat Appellate Bench of the Supreme Court considered the appeal. Deputy Attorney-General Agha Tariq Mehmood, who represented the federal government, said that the Shariat Appellate Bench dismissed the appeal because the appellant did not pursue it. The appellant did not present any argument on the appeal because the appellant, according to reports, was no longer alive. Consequently, it appears to be the law in Pakistan that persons convicted under § 295-C must be sentenced to death with or without a fine.[9]

[edit] Segregation

The blasphemy laws are part of a system which segregates Muslims from non-Muslims, and prevents non-Muslims from having much control over their lives. The system fosters injustice, sectarian violence and violence between religions.[10] The usual victims are Shia, Ahmadiyya, Christians, and Hindus. The authorities do little to prevent attacks on minorities or to punish the perpetrators of religion-inspired violence.[11][8]

In November 2008, Pakistan's government appointed Shahbaz Bhatti as Federal Minister for Minorities, and gave him cabinet rank. Bhatti has promised that the Asif Ali Zardari government will review Pakistan's blasphemy laws. He said that the government is committed to protecting the rights of minority religious communities, and that the government will implement a five percent quota for religious minorities in federal government employment.[11]

[edit] Vigilantism

Those who are accused of blasphemy may be subject to harassment, threats, and attacks. Police, lawyers, and judges may also be subject to harassment, threats, and attacks when blasphemy is in issue.[11][12] Those accused of blasphemy are subject to immediate incarceration, and most accused are denied bail to forestall mob violence.[11][8] It is common for those accused of blasphemy to be put in solitary confinement for their protection from other inmates and guards. Like those who have served a sentence for blasphemy, those who are acquitted of blasphemy usually go into hiding or leave Pakistan.[11][13]

[edit] United Nations

Pakistan's opposition to blasphemy has caused Pakistan to be active in the international arena in promoting global limitations on freedom of religion or belief and limitations on freedom of expression. In March 2009, Pakistan presented a resolution to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva which calls upon the world to formulate laws against the defamation of religion.[11] See blasphemy.

[edit] Selected cases

Between 1988 and 2005, Pakistani authorities charged 647 people with offences under the blasphemy laws. Fifty percent of the people charged were non-Muslim. Twenty of those charged were murdered soon after the charge was laid.[14][8]

On 4 August 2009, a Muslim mob attacked a factory-owner by the name of Najeebullah and others at Sheikhupura in the Punjab. The mob killed Najeebullah and two others, and set fire to the factory. The mob complained that Najeebullah had placed an outdated calendar, which contained verses from the Quran, on a table. For that offense, a worker accused Najeebullah of blasphemy. The workers may have been in a dispute with Najeebullah over wages.[15][16]

On 30 July 2009, hundreds of members of Sipah-e-Sahaba, a banned Muslim organization, torched Christian homes and killed Christians in the Punjabi city of Gojra and in the nearby village of Korian. The proferred reason for the violence was that a Christian had defiled a Quran. Christian mobs retaliated. Fighting between Muslim and Christian groups went on through 1 August 2009.[17][18][19]

On 28 January 2009, the police in Punjab arrested a labourer and four students for blasphemy. All those arrested were Amadhi. The accusation against them was that they wrote "Prophet Mohammed" on the wall of a toilet in a Sunni mosque. The senior superintendent of police investigated and reported to the Ministry of the Interior at the end of March 2009 that the accusation was baseless.[20][21][11]

In May 2008, Punjabi police jailed Robin Sardar, a physician and a Christian, upon an accusation of blasphemy from a Muslim street-vendor who wanted to install himself in front of Sardar's clinic.[22]

In February 2008, Special Rapporteurs of the United Nations Human Rights Council reminded Pakistan's representative of the matter regarding Raja Fiaz, Muhammad Bilal, Nazar Zakir Hussain, Qazi Farooq, Muhammad Rafique, Muhammad Saddique and Ghulam Hussain. According to the allegations received, the men are members of the Mehdi Foundation International (MFI), a multi-faith institution utilizing the mystical principles of Mr. Riaz Ahmed Gohar Shahi. They were arrested on 23 December 2005 in Wapda Town. The police confiscated posters on which Mr. Gohar Shahi was shown as “Imam Mehdi.” On 13 July 2006, the Anti-Terrorism Court No. 1 in Lahore sentenced each accused to five years of imprisonment, inter alia, under § 295-A for having outraged others’ religious feelings. Since 27 August 2006, the seven men have been detained in Sahiwal Jail, Punjab, where they were forced to parade naked, and were suspended from the ceiling and beaten. The prisoners’ records were posted outside the cell, and falsely indicated that they had been sentenced under § 295-C. For this reason, they were constantly threatened and intimidated by prison staff as well as by other detainees. One MFI member was targeted by several other inmates and sexually assaulted. Subsequently, other staff members sexually abused him and pushed burning cigarette butts into his anus.[23]

On 28 October 2007, the police arrested Muhammad Imran of Faisalabad under § 295-B for allegedly setting fire to a Quran. For three days, the police kept Imran in a torture-cell where they tortured him. Then the police sent him to a jail where other inmates attacked him. His jailers put Imran into solitary confinement without attending to his injuries. On 14 April 2009, an Additional Sessions judge released Imran.[24]

On 9 May 2007, Raja Riaz, a servant, accused his master, Walter Fazal Khan Khan, 84, a Christian, of burning a Quran at his house. The police arrested Khan under § 295-B. Kahn's family and others said Riaz's accusation was part of a plot to take Khan's valuable house and land from him.[25][26]

In April 2007, upon a charge of blasphemy, the police in Toba Tek Singh jailed five Christians: Salamat Masih, his son Rashid, and their relatives Ishfaq, Saba, and Dao Masih. The allegation against the Christians was that they desecrated pieces of paper that bore Prophet Mohammed's name. On 25 January 2009, the authorities released the Christians, and Muslim clerics agreed to issue a fatwa which declared that the accusation of blasphemy was unsound.[27]

Christians and Muslims in Pakistan condemned Dan Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code as blasphemous. On 3 June 2006, Pakistan banned the film. Culture Minister Ghulam Jamal said: "Islam teaches us to respect all the prophets of God Almighty and degradation of any prophet is tantamount to defamation of the rest."[28]

Two Christians, both elderly men from Faisalabad, Punjab, were acquitted by the Lahore High Court in April 2009. In November 2006, the two had been sentenced to 10 years in prison for allegedly burning pages from the Quran. The allegation arose apparently out of a dispute over land.[11]

In March 2006, the police arrested Shafeeq Lateef for making derogatory remarks about Prophet Mohammed and for desecrating a Quran. On 18 June 2008, a District and Sessions court sentenced Lateef to death for his alleged remarks and demanded that he pay a fine of 500,000 rupees for desecrating a Quran.[29]

On 11 August 2005, Judge Arshad Noor Khan of the Anti-Terrorist Court found Younus Shaikh guilty of defiling a copy of the Quran, outraging religious feelings, and propagating religious hatred among society.[30] Shaikh's conviction occurred because he wrote a book: Shaitan Maulvi (Satanic Cleric). The book said stoning to death (Rajam) as a punishment for adultery was not mentioned in the Quran. The book said also that four historical imams (religious leaders) were Jews.[31] The judge imposed upon Shaikh a fine of 100,000 rupees, and sentenced him to spend his life in jail.[32]

On 20 November 2003, the police arrested Anwar Masih, a day labourer, a Christian, a married father of four (at that time), a resident of Shahdara, a town next to Lahore.[13][33] The police charged Masih under § 295-B. The charge arose out of an encounter that Masih had with a neighbour who had grown a beard. The neighbor disclosed that he had converted from Christianity to Islam. Masih and the neighbour exchanged harsh words. The neighbour reported to the police that Masih had insulted Prophet Mohammed. The Lahore High Court acquitted Masih on 24 December 2004. In August 2005, Masih took a job in a factory. In November 2007, he lost the job when his employer was threatened for employing a "blasphemer." Masih went into hiding.[13]

In August 2003, the police arrested a Christian, Samuel Masih, for allegedly defiling a mosque by spitting on its wall. While in prison, Masih contracted tuberculosis. The authorities transported him to a hospital. There, on 24 May 2004, a police constable used a hammer to kill Masih. The constable said it was his duty as a Muslim to kill Masih.[34][35]

In October 2000, Pakistani authorities charged Younus Shaikh, a physician, with blasphemy on account of remarks that students claimed he made during a lecture. The students alleged that, inter alia, Shaikh had said Prophet Mohammed’s parents were non-Muslims because they died before Islam existed. A judge ordered that Shaikh pay a fine of 100,000 rupees, and that he be hanged.[36] On 20 November 2003, a court retried the matter and acquitted Shaikh, who fled Pakistan for Europe soon thereafter.[37]

In 2000, a court sentenced Naseem Ghani and Mohammed Shafiq to seven years imprisonment upon allegations that they had burned a Quran.[8]

The police arrested Ayub Masih, a Pakistani Christian bricklayer, for blasphemy on 14 October 1996, and jailed him for violation of § 295-C. Muhammad Akram, a Muslim neighbor to Masih, complained to the police that Masih had said Christianity was right, and Masih had recommended that Akram read Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses.[7][13]

The same day Masih was arrested, Muslim villagers forced the entire Christian population of Masih's village (fourteen families) to leave it. Masih's family had made application under a government program that gave housing plots to landless people. Local landlords resented Masih's application because the landlords had been able to oblige landless Christians to work in the fields in exchange for a place to live. Masih's application gave him a way out of his subservience to the landlords.[8] Upon Masih's arrest, the authorities gave Masih's plot to Akram.[7] Akram shot and injured Masih in the halls of the Session Court at Sahiwal on 6 November 1997. Four assailants attacked Masih in jail. The authorities took no action against Akram or against the other assailants.[7]

On 20 April 1998, Judge Abdul Khan sentenced Masih to death and levied a fine of 100,000 rupees. Two judges of the Lahore High Court heard Masih's appeal on 24 July 2001. Shortly thereafter, the judges affirmed the judgment of the trial court.[7] On 16 August 2002, the Supreme Court of Pakistan set aside the judgement of the lower courts. The Supreme Court noted Akram's acquisition of Masih's property, and concluded the case had been fabricated for personal gain. The court also noted other breaches in the law of due process.[38][39]

Judge Arif Iqbal Hussain Bhatti was assassinated on 19 October 1997 in his Lahore office after acquitting two people who were accused of blasphemy.[7]

Riaz Ahmad, his son, and two nephews (Basharat Ahmad, Qamar Ahmad and Mushtaq Ahmad), all Ahmadis, were arrested and jailed on 21 November 1993. They were detained for having "said something derogatory." Local people in Piplan, Mianwali District, said that rivalry over Ahmad's position as village headman was the real motivation for the complaint against him. The Sessions Court rejected the bail applications of the accused. The Supreme Court granted bail in December 1997.[13][6][8]

In February 1993, Anwar Masih, a Christian from Samundri in Punjab, went to jail upon a Muslim shopkeeper's allegation that, during an argument over money, Masih had insulted the Prophet Mohammed.[8]

In November 1992, Gul Masih, a Christian, was sentenced to death after having remarked to his neighbor Mohammad Sajjad, a Muslim, he had read "that Mohammed had 11 wives, including a minor." [40]


[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination considers report of Pakistan". Press Release. United Nations. 20 February 2009. http://www.unhchr.ch/huricane/huricane.nsf/view01/91CEF59BA2FEB79FC125756300751700?opendocument. Retrieved 2009-06-27. 
  2. ^ http://www.pakistani.org/pakistan/constitution/part1.html
  3. ^ "Christian lawyer appointed as High Court Judge following efforts of Pakistan Minorities Minister". ASSIST News Service (ANS). 28 February 2009. http://www.assistnews.net/STORIES/2009/s09020176.htm. Retrieved 28 June 2009. 
  4. ^ http://www.pakistani.org/pakistan/legislation/1860/actXLVof1860.html
  5. ^ "Section 295C Pakistan Criminal Code". Report on the Situation of Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan. Persecution.org. 4 November 1994. http://www.thepersecution.org/archive/10_c.html. Retrieved 28 June 2009. 
  6. ^ a b "Swearing by reforms: Time to put Pakistan’s blasphemy laws on trial". HRF/52/02. South Asian Human Rights Documentation Centre. 15 February 2002. http://www.hrdc.net/sahrdc/hrfeatures/HRF52.htm. Retrieved 2009-06-28. 
  7. ^ a b c d e f "[http://www.freedom-now.org/masih_pet.php Petition To: United Nations Working Group On Arbitrary Detention — in the Matter of Ayub Masih, Citizen of Pakistan v. Government of Pakistan]". Freedom Now. 8 October 2001. http://www.freedom-now.org/masih_pet.php. Retrieved 2009-06-26. 
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h Ahmed, Akbar S. (19 May 2002). "Pakistan's Blasphemy Law: Words Fail Me". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A36108-2002May17&notFound=true. Retrieved 2009-06-28. 
  9. ^ "Pak SC rejects petition-challenging death as the only punishment for blasphemy". PakistanNews.net. 22 April 2009. http://www.pakistannews.net/story/492878. Retrieved 28 June 2009. 
  10. ^ "Muslim scholar says Scrap blasphemy laws which bring shame on Islam and Pakistan". Herald Malaysia Online. 11 August 2009. http://www.heraldmalaysia.com/news/storydetails.php/Muslim-scholar-says-Scrap-blasphemy-laws-which-bring-shame-on-Islam-and-Pakistan/2058-1-1. Retrieved 3 September 2009. 
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h "Annual Report of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom May 2009". Pakistan. United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. May 2009. http://www.uscirf.gov/images/AR2009/pakistan.pdf. Retrieved 2009-06-24. 
  12. ^ United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (8 October 2008). "Asma Jahangir". United Nations. http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/opinion/articles1920_iccpr/docs/experts_cvs/Jaghanfir%20bis.doc. Retrieved 2009-06-27. 
  13. ^ a b c d e "Christian Cleared of Blasphemy Charges Fired from Job, Facing Death Threats". International Christian Concern. 22 February 2008. http://www.persecution.org/suffering/newsdetail.php?newscode=7202. Retrieved 2009-06-27. 
  14. ^ "Christians often victims under Pakistan's blasphemy law". The Evangelization Station. FIDES/CWNews. 13 May 2005. http://www.evangelizationstation.com/htm_html/Around%20the%20World/Pakistan/christians_often_victims_under_p.htm. Retrieved 2009-06-22. 
  15. ^ "After Gojra, 3 ‘blasphemy’ killings in Pak Punjab for ‘desecrating Quran’". Thaindian News. 5 August 2009. http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/south-asia/after-gojra-3-blasphemy-killings-in-pak-punjab-for-desecrating-quran_100227891.html. Retrieved 16 August 2009. 
  16. ^ "'Blasphemy' claims three more victims". Daily Times. 5 August 2009. http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009%5C08%5C05%5Cstory_5-8-2009_pg1_10. Retrieved 20 August 2009. 
  17. ^ The Associated Press (1 August 2009). "6 Pakistani Christians die in riots with Muslims". Toronto Star. http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/675167. Retrieved 1 August 2009. 
  18. ^ "Pakistan: Christians Burned to Death in Islamist Attacks". Compass Direct News. 1 August 2009. http://www.compassdirect.org/. Retrieved 1 August 2009. 
  19. ^ Maqbool, Aleem (12 August 2009). "Sectarian violence hits Pakistani town". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8196013.stm. Retrieved 12 August 2009. 
  20. ^ "The Evil Face of Shahbaz Sharif: Kids in Illegel Detention for Blasphemy". Sherryx's Weblog. 8 May 2009. http://sherryx.wordpress.com/2009/05/08/the-evil-face-of-shahbaz-sharif-kids-in-illegel-detention-for-blasphemy/. Retrieved 28 July 2009. 
  21. ^ "Filing of blasphemy charges against 5 Ahmadis in Layyah district". 1-2 February 2009. http://www.thepersecution.org/hrcp/layyahfact.html. Retrieved 1 August 2009. 
  22. ^ Compass Direct News (20 May 2008). "PAKISTAN: DOCTOR JAILED ON ‘BLASPHEMY’ CHARGES :Police rescue Christian from angry mob". mychristianblood.blogspirit.com. http://mychristianblood.blogspirit.com/archive/2008/05/20/pakistan-doctor-jailed-on-%E2%80%98blasphemy-charges-police-rescue-c.html. Retrieved 28 July 2009. 
  23. ^ United Nations Human Rights Council (28 February 2008). "Report of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Asma Jahangir". A/HRC/7/10/Add.1. United Nations. http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cerd/docs/CERD.C.PAK.CO.20.doc. Retrieved 2009-06-28. 
  24. ^ Mohabbat, Pervaiz (22 May 2009). "Blasphemy Victim Released". Pakistan Christian Post. http://www.pakistanchristianpost.com/headlinenewsd.php?hnewsid=1157. Retrieved 28 June 2009. 
  25. ^ Felix, Qaiser (10 May 2007). "[www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=9226 84-year-old Christian accused of blasphemy to force him to sell land]". AsiaNews.it. www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=9226. Retrieved 9 November 2009. 
  26. ^ "[www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90233.htm International Religious Freedom Report 2007: Pakistan]". U.S. Department of State. 2007. www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90233.htm. Retrieved 9 November 2009. 
  27. ^ Becket Fund (25 January 2009). "Pakistan: Christians Cleared of “Blasphemy” Amid Violence". Internation Religious Freedom News (IRFN). http://becketinternational.wordpress.com/2009/01/25/pakistan-christians-cleared-of-%e2%80%9cblasphemy%e2%80%9d-amid-violence/. Retrieved 28 July 2009. 
  28. ^ "Pakistan bans Da Vinci Code film". BBC News / South Asia. 4 June 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/south_asia/5045672.stm. Retrieved 2006-06-04. 
  29. ^ "Man gets death sentence for blasphemy". Daily Times. 19 June 2008. http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008%5C06%5C19%5Cstory_19-6-2008_pg7_7. Retrieved 4 September 2009. 
  30. ^ "Writer in Pakistan given life for “blasphemy”". National Secular Society. 27 July 2007. http://www.secularism.org.uk/writerinpakistangivenlifeforblas.html. Retrieved 2009-06-21. 
  31. ^ "Document - Pakistan: Fear for safety/ Prisoner of Conscience (POC), Mohammed Younus Shaikh". Amnesty International. 19 August 2005. http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA33/023/2005/en/dc8bb567-d4b7-11dd-8a23-d58a49c0d652/asa330232005en.html. Retrieved 2009-06-21. 
  32. ^ "KARACHI: Writer of sacrilegious book gets life term". Dawn the Internet Edition. 12 August 2005. http://www.dawn.com/2005/08/12/local4.htm. Retrieved 2009-06-21. 
  33. ^ "Plea for Anwar Masih's bail". Letters to the Editor. Dawn the Internet Edition. 15 June 2004. http://www.dawn.com/2004/06/15/letted.htm. Retrieved 2009-06-27. 
  34. ^ Mansell, Hannah (15 June 2004). "Young Christian man accused of blasphemy killed". Religious Intelligence. http://www.religiousintelligence.co.uk/news/?NewsID=93. Retrieved 18 August 2009. 
  35. ^ "Muslim Police Constable Murders Christian in Hospital Accused of Blasphemy". Article 14510. Barnabas Fund. 10 June 2004. http://www.strategicnetwork.org/index.php?loc=kb&view=v&id=14510&fto=4408&. Retrieved 20 August 2009. 
  36. ^ McCarthy, Rory (20 August 2001). "Blasphemy doctor faces death". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,539348,00.html. Retrieved 2009-06-19. 
  37. ^ "Mukto-mona special News: Younus Shaikh Free!". Mukto-mona. 23 January 2004. http://www.mukto-mona.com/news/shaikh_free.htm. Retrieved 2009-06-19. 
  38. ^ "Blasphemy Prisoner Acquitted After Six Years in Prison". International Christian Concern. 15 August 2002. http://persecution.org/news/Press_Releases/PR_2002/press2002-08-15.html. Retrieved 2009-06-26. 
  39. ^ Olsen, Ted (8 August 2002). "[http:// http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2002/augustweb-only/8-12-51.0.html Pakistan frees Christian prisoner as country mourns attacks]". Christianity Today Magazine. http:// http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2002/augustweb-only/8-12-51.0.html. Retrieved 2009-06-26. 
  40. ^ "Blasphemy Laws and Intellectual Freedom in Pakistan". South Asian Voice. August 2002. http://members.tripod.com/~INDIA_RESOURCE/ifpakistan.html. Retrieved 2009-06-21. 
v • d • e
Blasphemy law by country
Afghanistan • Algeria • Australia • Bangladesh • Egypt • Indonesia • Iran • Jordan • Kuwait • Malaysia • Nigeria • Pakistan • Saudi Arabia • United Arab Emirates • United Kingdom • United States • Yemen
See also: Blasphemy • Blasphemy and the United Nations • Freedom of speech versus blasphemy
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blasphemy_law_in_Pakistan"