Pakistan — A court in Pakistan acquitted Christian twin brothers of a false blasphemy accusation as the prosecution failed to prove charges against them, their attorney said.

Kasur Additional Sessions Judge Farzana Shahzad ordered that 18-year-olds Sahil Shahid (known as Kalu) and Raheel Shahid (known as Tabish), be released from prison after their defense team proved they had been falsely charged and that police had failed to properly investigate, said attorney Javed Sahotra.

During cross-examination of eight witnesses, including the investigating officer and the complainant, Sahotra asked if any of them could identify which quranic passage or verses had allegedly been desecrated by the brothers of Qulay Wala village in Kasur District, Punjab Province.

“Neither the IO nor any other witness was able to respond to my question, which shows that the evidence that they had submitted against the brothers had been fabricated,” Sahotra told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. “Admitting my arguments, the honorable judge ordered the release of the twins and issued a notice to the Kasur district police officer to start an inquiry against the IO for conducting a weak investigation.”

Sahotra said he argued that Inspector Muhammad Saleem of Kasur Saddar Police Station was not qualified to investigate the case.

“Though Saleem is serving as an inspector, he has only obtained higher secondary education and is unable to read or understand the Arabic language,” he said.

The twins have been released from prison and have reunited with their family, he added.

The defense team also informed the court that the brothers had been falsely charged with the aim of instilling fear in Christians and forcing them to leave the village.

“We believe that this case was a conspiracy against the Christian residents so that vested interests could grab their land and properties,” Sahotra said. “However, timely intervention of the police and our successful defense of the victims scuttled their nefarious designs.”

The Shahid brothers were arrested and charged with blasphemy on Aug. 27, 2024, after they were accused of tearing pages of the Quran. Desecrating the Quran carries a life sentence in Muslim-majority Pakistan, but intent must be proven for a conviction.

The complainant, Ghulam Mustafa, alleged in the First Information Report (FIR) that on Aug. 26, 2024, the brothers had desecrated quranic pages at a local village fair.

The brothers are illiterate and belong to a poor family, rights activist Sajid Christopher previously told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News, adding that family members surrendered them to police after officials took their mother and an uncle into custody.

Blasphemy Law amendments urged

Expressing alarm over an increase in false blasphemy accusations in Pakistan, the U.N. Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) on Nov. 7, 2024, urged repeal or amending of the country’s widely condemned blasphemy laws.

The committee noted that false blasphemy accusations led to Islamist mob violence and recommended amending the laws in accordance with requirements of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). In its concluding observations of the committee’s second periodic report on Pakistan, it stated concern over sections 295 and 298 of the Pakistan Penal Code, which carry severe penalties, including the death penalty, and have a disproportionate impact on religious minorities.

“It is also concerned about the increasing number of persons incarcerated under blasphemy charges, the high number of blasphemy cases based on false accusations, violence against those accused of blasphemy, fostering vigilante justice, and allegations of entrapment of persons, in particular young persons, on accusations of on-line blasphemy under cybercrime laws,” the committee stated.

It emphasized ending use of cybercrime laws, such as the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016, to prosecute and detain those accused of breaching blasphemy laws online. The committee also urged the government to investigate allegations of massive abuse of blasphemy laws in connection with cybercrime laws and publish the results of the inquiries.

“[The committee] is also concerned about the chilling effect that criminal defamation laws, blasphemy, sedition and counter-terrorism laws, and other recently passed legislation have on the exercise of freedom of expression by journalists, activists, human rights defenders and members of ethnic and religious minorities,” it stated.

Urging Pakistan to take all necessary measures to guarantee prompt and fair trials for all persons charged with blasphemy or other offenses against religion, the committee highlighted jail conditions, stating that it was “also concerned about reports of abuse of women prisoners, including sexual violence, and that individuals accused of blasphemy are often placed in solitary confinement for extended periods of time. It remains concerned about the widespread recourse to prolonged pretrial detention.”

Pakistan ranked eighth on Open Doors’ 2025 World Watch List of the most difficult places to be a Christian.
Sources:Christian Post

http://theendtimeradio.com

അബൂജ: മാധ്യമപ്രവർത്തകർ ക്രൈസ്തവര്‍ നേരിടുന്ന പീഡനങ്ങള്‍ തുറന്നുക്കാട്ടണമെന്ന അഭ്യര്‍ത്ഥനയുമായി നൈജീരിയന്‍ യൂണിവേഴ്സിറ്റി വൈസ് ചാന്‍സലര്‍. നൈജീരിയയിലെ വേരിറ്റാസ് യൂണിവേഴ്സിറ്റിയുടെ വൈസ് ചാൻസലറും അവ്ക രൂപത വൈദികനുമായ ഫാ. ഹയാസിന്ത് എമെൻ്റ ഇചോകുവാണ് വിഷയത്തില്‍ മാധ്യമ ഇടപെടല്‍ തേടി രംഗത്ത് വന്നിരിക്കുന്നത്. പടിഞ്ഞാറൻ ആഫ്രിക്കൻ രാജ്യമായ നൈജീരിയയിലെ ക്രൈസ്തവര്‍ നേരിടുന്ന പീഡനം രാജ്യത്തെ ഏറ്റവും ഉയർന്ന കൊടുമുടിയിലാണെന്നും മാധ്യമ പ്രവര്‍ത്തകര്‍ ഇത് തുറന്നുക്കാട്ടാന്‍ പരിശ്രമിക്കണമെന്നും അദ്ദേഹം ആവശ്യപ്പെട്ടു.

വിശുദ്ധ ഡോൺ ബോസ്‌കോയുടെ തിരുനാളിനോട് അനുബന്ധിച്ച് സെൻ്റ് ജോസഫൈൻ ബഖിത കമ്മ്യൂണിറ്റി ഓഫ് സലേഷ്യൻസ് സംഘടിപ്പിച്ച ഒരു പരിപാടിയ്ക്കുപിന്നാലെയാണ്, ആഫ്രിക്കയിലെ സിഎൻഎയുടെ വാർത്താ പങ്കാളിയായ ‘എസിഐ ആഫ്രിക്ക’യ്ക്ക് നൽകിയ അഭിമുഖത്തില്‍ ഇക്കാര്യം പറഞ്ഞത്. പീഡനം എല്ലായ്പ്പോഴും ക്രൈസ്തവ ചരിത്രത്തിന്റെ തുടക്കം മുതൽ തന്നെ ഭാഗമാണ്. ക്രൈസ്തവ വിശ്വാസികൾ പീഡിപ്പിക്കപ്പെടാത്ത ഒരു നിമിഷവുമില്ലാ. പീഡനം എല്ലായ്‌പ്പോഴും ആളുകൾ കൊല്ലപ്പെടുന്നുവെന്ന് അർത്ഥമാക്കുന്നില്ല.

ആളുകളുടെ വിശ്വാസങ്ങൾ കാരണം അവരുടെ അവകാശങ്ങൾ നിഷേധിക്കുമ്പോൾ, അത് പീഡനമാണ്. ഉദാഹരണത്തിന്, ജോലിസ്ഥലത്ത് സ്ഥാനക്കയറ്റമോ പള്ളി പണിയുന്നതിനുള്ള ഭൂമിയുടെ സാധ്യതയോ നിഷേധിക്കപ്പെടുന്നത് അടിച്ചമർത്തലുകള്‍ തന്നെയാണ്. വിശ്വാസത്തിന്റെ പേരിൽ ആളുകളെ പീഡിപ്പിക്കുന്നത് സർക്കാർ നയമാക്കുമ്പോൾ അത് അപകടകരമാണ്. ഭരണകൂടത്തിന്റെ അധികാരം ഉപയോഗിച്ച് ഒരു വിഭാഗത്തെ ലക്ഷ്യം വയ്ക്കുന്നത് കടുത്ത അനീതിയാണ്. ശ്രദ്ധിക്കപ്പെടാതെ പോകുന്ന പീഡനം ഒടുവിൽ കൂടുതൽ ഹീനമായിരിക്കും. എന്നാൽ ശബ്ദമുള്ളവർക്ക് ഈ അനീതികൾക്ക് എതിരെ പ്രതികരിക്കാന്‍ കഴിയുമെങ്കിൽ, അത് ഈ പ്രശ്നത്തിന് മേല്‍ നടപടി ആവശ്യപ്പെടുന്ന ഒരു പൊതു ആശങ്കയാക്കി മാറ്റും.

ക്രൈസ്തവ മാധ്യമ പ്രവർത്തകരും മാധ്യമ പരിശീലനം നടത്തുന്നവരും തങ്ങളുടെ ജോലിയെ ക്രൈസ്തവ വിരുദ്ധ പീഡനത്തെയും ക്രിസ്തുവിൻ്റെ ശരീരത്തിനെതിരായ ഏത് തരത്തിലുള്ള വിവേചനത്തെയും തുറന്നുകാട്ടാൻ ഉപയോഗിക്കേണ്ട ഒരു തൊഴിലായി കാണണം. നൈജീരിയയിലെ ക്രൈസ്തവരുടെ ദുരവസ്ഥകൾ മുന്നിൽ കൊണ്ടുവരാൻ മാധ്യമ വാദങ്ങൾ പ്രധാനമാണെന്നും പീഡനത്തിനും അടിച്ചമർത്തലിനും മുന്നിൽ മിണ്ടാതിരിക്കരുതെന്നും ഫാ. ഇച്ചോക്കു അഭ്യര്‍ത്ഥിച്ചു. അടുത്തിടെ ഓപ്പണ്‍ ഡോഴ്സ് പുറത്തിറക്കിയ ക്രൈസ്തവ വിശ്വാസികള്‍ക്ക് നേരെ ഏറ്റവും പീഡനങ്ങള്‍ അരങ്ങേറുന്ന ആഗോള രാജ്യങ്ങളുടെ പട്ടികയില്‍ ഏഴാം സ്ഥാനത്താണ് നൈജീരിയ.
കടപ്പാട് :പ്രവാചക ശബ്ദം

http://theendtimeradio.com

Pakistan — Police in Pakistan this week arrested a mentally challenged Christian man on blasphemy charges despite being aware of his condition, sources said.

In Sahiwal, Punjab Province, Ghala Mandi police on Monday arrested Farhan Javed Masih, 28, after a local villager, Muhammad Bilal Khan, accused him of speaking against Islam and the religion’s sacred figures, said the suspect’s mother, Parveen Javed.

“We were at home when Bilal and some other Muslims came and told us that Farhan had committed blasphemy,” his mother, Parveen Javed, told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. “I pleaded with them to forgive him, keeping in mind his mental state, but they did not listen to me and called the police, who arrested him.”

Javed, widowed six years ago and mother of three children in Chak 134-9/L village, said Farhan Masih’s mental health started deteriorating after his father’s death. His younger sister, Anum, said that his mental condition was known to everyone in the village.

“Getting him arrested for blasphemy will only aggravate his mental condition,” she said. “The police should have at least gotten his mental examination done before registering the FIR [First Information Report] against him.”

A member of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, Parveen Javed said her son had completed a four-year nursing course and had worked at Adam Welfare Hospital in Sahiwal but was fired in 2023 due to mental illness and drug addiction.

“Farhan had become a heroin addict, which aggravated his mental health,” she said. “We have tried to get him treated, but it didn’t work. Ever since he lost his job, Farhan used to loiter around the village all day saying absurd things. The entire village knows that he is of unsound mind.”

His sister said the family was surviving on the earnings of her and her mother.

“My mother and I are already under a lot of pressure and stress due to my brothers’ illness and drug addiction problem,” she said. “Now we are on a knife’s edge thinking what will happen to Farhan given how serious the accusation is.”

Intent must be proven for conviction on blasphemy charges in Pakistan, which carry punishments ranging from fines and prison to the death penalty.

Complainant Bilal Khan stated in the FIR that he was going to water his crops when Farhan Masih arrived and started speaking absurdities.

“The holy personages of your religion are false, and I don’t want to live among Muslims, because you belong to inferior status,” Masih purportedly told him, according to Khan’s police complaint.

Police registered a case against the Christian under the blasphemy statutes, including Section 295-A, which calls for imprisonment of up to 10 years for deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs; 298-A, with a punishment of up to 10 years in prison for disrespecting the wives and companions of Muhammad, the prophet of Islam; and Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, which includes a clause related to causing civil commotion or unrest and is punishable by a minimum five-year jail term.

Bishop Abraham Daniel of the Baptist Church in Sahiwal said there were 150 to 200 Christian families in the village.

“When I got news of the incident, I immediately contacted senior police officials and sought security for the Christian residents,” Daniel told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. “Thankfully, timely police deployment prevented any untoward incident from taking place there, and the situation is peaceful now.”

He said that Masih’s mental illness should have protected him against arrest on blasphemy charges.

“Farhan has no control over his mind and does not comprehend the seriousness of the things that he says,” Daniel said. “He did not commit blasphemy intentionally, and the police and court must take his mental condition into account while judging the matter.”

Church of Pakistan’s Moderator Bishop Azad Marshall said a senior officer should have intervened as police knew the matter involved a person of unstable mind.

“Farhan’s case is particularly concerning because his mental illness raises serious questions on his ability to understand or commit the alleged offense,” Marshall told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. “We have repeatedly called for reforms in Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, but unfortunately our pleas continue to be ignored despite several people falling victim to false accusations of blasphemy every second day.”

The senior church leader also expressed concern over reports of organized groups trapping youths in blasphemy cases across the country, regretting that the dangerous trend had made Christians more vulnerable to persecution.

“Hundreds of people, including Muslims, are being accused and jailed for blasphemy, but it’s very strange that despite this issue being highlighted by the media and even the National Commission for Human Rights, nothing is being done to dismantle such organized groups,” he said.

Spike in false accusations

In Muslim-majority Pakistan, any baseless blasphemy accusation can ignite public outrage and sometimes result in mob violence.

According to the Lahore-based advocacy group Center for Social Justice, 343 blasphemy cases were filed in Pakistan in 2024, including 19 Christians, five of them females.

Expressing alarm over an increase in false blasphemy accusations in Pakistan, the U.N. Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) on Nov. 7, 2024, urged repeal or amending of the country’s widely condemned blasphemy laws.

The committee noted that false blasphemy accusations led to Islamist mob violence and recommended amending the laws in accordance with requirements of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). In its concluding observations of the committee’s second periodic report on Pakistan, it stated concern over sections 295 and 298 of the Pakistan Penal Code, which carry severe penalties, including the death penalty, and have a disproportionate impact on religious minorities.

“It is also concerned about the increasing number of persons incarcerated under blasphemy charges, the high number of blasphemy cases based on false accusations, violence against those accused of blasphemy, fostering vigilante justice, and allegations of entrapment of persons, in particular young persons, on accusations of on-line blasphemy under cybercrime laws,” the committee stated.

It emphasized ending use of cybercrime laws, such as the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016, to prosecute and detain those accused of breaching blasphemy laws online. The committee also urged the government to investigate allegations of massive abuse of blasphemy laws in connection with cybercrime laws and publish the results of the inquiries.

“[The committee] is also concerned about the chilling effect that criminal defamation laws, blasphemy, sedition and counter-terrorism laws, and other recently passed legislation have on the exercise of freedom of expression by journalists, activists, human rights defenders and members of ethnic and religious minorities,” it stated.

Urging Pakistan to take all necessary measures to guarantee prompt and fair trials for all persons charged with blasphemy or other offenses against religion, the committee highlighted jail conditions, stating that it was “also concerned about reports of abuse of women prisoners, including sexual violence, and that individuals accused of blasphemy are often placed in solitary confinement for extended periods of time. It remains concerned about the widespread recourse to prolonged pretrial detention.”

Pakistan ranked eighth on Open Doors’ 2025 World Watch List of the most difficult places to be a Christian.
Sources:Christian Post

http://theendtimeradio.com