ICC Note: Pakistan’s police and judicial system are not complying with legal procedures set to help end the abuse of the country’s blasphemy laws. According to Pakistani civil society, 50 individuals were imprisoned on blasphemy charges in 2017. Due to the abuse of the laws, senior police officials are supposed to investigate a blasphemy accusation’s validity before a charge is filed. Often, the filing of a blasphemy charge is enough to incite mob violence, especially when a religious minority is accused.  

06/01/2018 Pakistan (The Express Tribune) – According to the civil society organization in Pakistan, 50 individuals were imprisoned on blasphemy charges during the year 2017, at least 17 of whom had received death sentences under the law.

Civil society groups continued to voice their concern over misuse of the blasphemy laws in the country, while citing the Mashal Khan case verdict as the example of misconstrued facts and the complexities surrounding the law in the country.

Due to several procedural irregularities and deficiencies numerous other blasphemy cases too remained pending in the courts at the year end, including the Aasia Bibi case, impending since October 2016.

The US State Department’s ‘International Religious Freedom Report’ for the year 2017 reported the situation of minorities and religious freedom rights in Pakistan during the past year.

Previously placed on a Special Watch List for having engaged in or tolerated severe violations of religious freedom under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, following the report the US Commission on International Religious Freedom has again repeated its recommendation to declare Pakistan as a ‘county of special concern’.

The report notes the government and civil society’s efforts in dealing with sectarian conflicts and violence against minorities. According to the report, counter-terrorism actions persecuted by the Civil and military leadership under the National Action Plan included an explicit goal of countering sectarian hate speech and extremism.

Yet the laws remained less helpful to the accused in blasphemy cases as in numerous such cases the police failed to comply with the law requiring a senior police official to investigate any blasphemy charge before a complaint can be filed.

Further, proceedings in the legislative houses to amend laws following the court directives witnessed slow, partial or no implementation. As the directive from the Islamabad High Court, to revise the penal code to make the penalties for false accusations of blasphemy commensurate with those for committing blasphemy awaited implementation till the year end.

Blasphemy cases and laws remained at the forefront of Pakistan’s societal and political realm. Not just with individual cases, on national political front too political discourse remain embroiled with debates and subsequent backlash from different religious-political factions over the matter.

…

For interviews with William Stark, ICC’s Regional Manager, please contact Olivia Miller, Communications Coordinator: [email protected]