Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Islamabad (Fides Service) - The Catholic Bishops of Pakistan through their Justice and Peace Commission have denounced more arrests of citizens on false charges of blasphemy. Recently four men, Yousaf Masih a Christian living in Noshera, Younis Masih another Christian living in Lahore and two Hindus living in Swabi were arrested and maltreated on false charges of blasphemy.
Article 295/c of Pakistan’s Penal Code known as the “blasphemy law” punishes anyone who who ‘directly or indirectly insults the holy name of the Prophet in word or deed’ with a maximum senence of life imprisonment.
Once again the Catholic community has strongly protested against discriminatory treatment of members of religious minorities rebuked the government for making too many concessions to Islamic extremists.
In a statement the Commission called for the law to be abrogated rather than changed. Archbishop Lawrence Saldanha Lahore president of the Pakistan Bishops’ Conference said abrogation is the only acceptable solution to this injustice.
The Commission said the law undermines social stability and interreligou harmony and that since 1988 more than 650 people have been detained in prison of the basis of the anti-blasphemy law. Moreover as many as 20 people have been murdered on the same false grounds by extremists including lawyer Arif Huassain Bhatti a former high court judge who agreed to take up the defence of peoole charged with blasphemy.
The law in question is often used to strike political or personal enemies, by Muslim extremists or for private discussions. In many cases the innocent victims have been Christians. At the moment 80 Christians are in prison for blasphemy, a high number considering that Pakistan Christians are only a tiny minority. The Commission’s report gave the following percentages of persons charged with blasphemy according to religion: 50% Muslim, 37% Ahmadi, 13% Christian and 1% Hindu
Pakistan has a population of 155 million 97% Muslim (77% Sunni and 20% Shiite, 2.5% Christian including 1.2 million Catholics.
(PA)(Agenzia Fides 20/9/2005 righe 28 parole 281)
