Sameer* was blindsided when he was accused of blasphemy. He had no recollection of defaming the prophet Muhammad, but after a long night of conversation and debate, it was his word against the word of, who he thought was, his close Muslim friend. At first he didn’t understand the point of the accusation, until he remembered that Christian community that he belonged to was sitting on high-profile soil, and a Muslim-owned steel mill owner had his eye on it.
This accusation sparked a night of violence, where more than 3,000 angry protesters looted over 250 homes, then set the neighborhood on fire while police just watched. Sameer is currently in jail for the accusation, and his family is in hiding. This is just one of hundreds examples of the abusive nature of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws. (*name changed for security)