CHURCH IN PAKISTAN PLEADS FOR CHRISTIAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR BLASPHEMY

By Lisa Zengarini

The Catholic Bishops of Pakistan have joined the Christian community's outcry against the recent death sentence imposed by a Punjabi court on a young Christian for blasphemy related to anti-Christian riots in Punjab last year. They stated that this is an abuse of law that again targets religious minorities.

On June 29, Mr. Ahsan Raja Masih, a 22-year-old brick kiln worker, was found guilty by the Sahiwal Anti-Terrorism Court under several articles of the Pakistan Penal Code for allegedly sharing an image of a damaged Quran on social media, thus "offending the sentiments of Muslims and trying to promote religious hatred."

Anti-Christian Riot in Jaranwala

The post triggered an anti-Christian riot in Jaranwala city, Punjab province, on August 16, 2023, in which more than 25 churches and over 80 Christian homes were vandalized and many Bibles burned.

Blasphemy has been a capital crime in Pakistan since 1981, although no one has been executed by the government so far. However, in several cases, mobs take the matter into their own hands and lynch suspects, and the law is often misused for false accusations against Christians and other religious minorities to settle personal scores.

Sentence Opposed by the Church

This death sentence has spurred widespread protests on social media and strong condemnation from Christian leaders in Pakistan.

"We condemn this in the strongest terms,” said Bishop Joseph Arshad of Islamabad-Rawalpindi, chairperson of the Commission for Justice and Peace of the Pakistan Catholic Bishops' Conference (NCJP). "This is an abuse of law, a travesty of justice," Bishop Indrias Rehmat of Faisalabad told UCA News.

Anglican Bishop Nadeem Kamran of Lahore said, "Such condemnations reflect the frustration of Christians," who make up about 1.6 percent of Pakistan's 241 million people.

Appeal to the International Community

In an interview with the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), the President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Pakistan said that the Sahiwal Anti-Terrorism Court decision is "very, very painful for us and many people are disappointed." Bishop Samson Shukardin called on the international community to appeal for justice: "Big international NGOs and human rights organizations should come out and say something opposing this decision. This will make a big impact on the government," he remarked.

Father Khalid Rashid, NCJP director for Faisalabad Diocese, also condemned the judgment, highlighting that the image was shared by thousands of people, "Mr. Ahsan is being singled out. He is being targeted," he lamented, also noting that he is not well-educated and comes from a very poor family. Father Rashid said the court came under pressure to issue a guilty verdict.

Loopholes in the Investigation

Mr. Ahsan's lawyer, Khurram Shahzad, told UCA News that there are many loopholes in the investigation of the case. "This is another case of persecution of a poor family from the minority community," he said.

The controversial sentence comes amid increasing attacks against Christians and other minorities in Pakistan, who are often targeted by false blasphemy accusations.

Increasing Attacks Against Christians and Other Minorities

In May this year, an elderly Christian, Nazir Masih, was attacked in Sargodha in Punjab province after he was accused of blasphemy for allegedly burning pages of the Quran. He died of his injuries on June 3. Since then, many Christians from Sargodha have fled the city. Also, last month, two Ahmadis, a persecuted Muslim minority in Pakistan, were killed in Punjab's Mandi Bahauddin district, allegedly by members of the far-right religious political group Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan, or TLP, linked to the violence in Jaranwala and Sargodha.

Bishop Shukardin lamented that "Minorities are suffering more and more and are scared to speak up in public." He said that Muslims are also accused of blasphemy, but what makes such allegations so much worse for Christians is that when claims are made against them, it is not just individuals who are targeted but their families and entire communities.

No Convictions for Sargodha and Jaranwala Violence

The bishop also stressed that, contrary to the case brought against Mr. Ahsan, there have been no convictions against those involved in the attacks against Christians in Sargodha and Jaranwala: "One of our Christians is given a death sentence which is unjust, and yet nothing has happened to those others accused of crimes against the churches and Christian houses. Instead, these people are slowly being released," he said.

Advocate Akmal Bhatti, chairman of the Minorities' Alliance, has reportedly stated that barely a dozen of the 135 people summoned by authorities in connection with the Jaranwala violence are facing trials