Punjab blasphemy case study: 94% cases against Muslims

Of the 130 prisoners in Punjab jails under blasphemy laws, eight are Christians and 122 are Muslims.

LAHORE: A new debate has started about Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy laws after Aasia Bibi, a Christian woman from Nankana Saheb in Punjab, who was sentenced to death for blasphemy, made headlines across the world.

The country’s liberal educated class are advocating changes in the controversial laws, while religious parties are saying they would fight any such move.

There is a common impression that the blasphemy laws are targeting only non-Muslim communities in the country, but official statistics show this notion is misplaced.

In retrospect, 12 prisoners, including Aasia, have so far been sentenced to death by courts in Punjab on charges of blasphemy. Of these, only three are Christians while the remaining are Muslims, The Express Tribune has learnt.

According to official data, as many as 130 prisoners are in different jails of Punjab under the blasphemy laws. Of these, 64 have been convicted, while the remaining 52 are under trial.

Of the convicts, 12 prisoners, among them Aasia, have been condemned to death, while the others have been awarded different punishments, including life sentences and fines.

Interestingly, only eight prisoners are Christians, while the remaining 122 are Muslims. Of the eight Christians, two are women – Aasia Bibi, wife of Ashiq Masih and Ruqia, wife of Murir Masih – and six are men.

Now let’s have a look at the status of these eight Christians. Again the official data shows that only three are on death row, two have been sentenced to life imprisonment, while the remaining three are under trial.

So far, the Lahore High Court (LHC) has rejected one appeal of a Christian man, Anwar Kanth, son of Veera Masih, who was sentenced to death by the court of the additional and sessions judge Lahore on July 18, 2002.

Official statistics available with The Express Tribune show that only eight Christians have been jailed under the blasphemy laws in Punjab since September 29, 2001.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 5^th, 2010.