Blasphemy laws: 75% of cases are against Muslims

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The Dawn dated 21 January 2001

"Islamabad, Jan 20: It has been reliably learnt that about 75 per cent of the cases, registered under the country's balsphemy law, are against its Muslim residents.

It has been learnt that the percentage of aquittals and cases withdrawn under this category is quite high. Only one person was sentenced to death last year.

These figures collected by the interior ministry, from the provincial headquarters, showed a situation which is completely opposite to the propaganda unleashed by the Western media organs and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) against Pakistan, that the blasphemy law is directed against the country's minorities.

Details of cases collected from all over Pakistan except Sindh, which has yet to provide the required information to the interior ministry, reveal that a total of 122 blasphemy cases are registered or pending in the courts. 90 of these 122 cases have been registered against Muslim residents. Only 32 cases are registered or pending against minorities including Qadianis and Christians. Interestingly enough no blasphemy cases have been registered in Baluchistan.

General Pervez Musharraf had announced last year to amend the procedure for the registration of blasphemy cases so that it is not misused. However, he could not proceed accordingly because of protests launched by religious groups in the country."

http://www.dawn.com/2001/01/21/nat10.htm

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Note: unofficially this is being practised anyway, as the United Kingdom Home Office latest assessment of October 2000 indicates:

"5.3.34 According to the Human Rights' Commission of Pakistan, the government's unofficial changes to the procedures for filing formal blasphemy charges made in 1995 have been followed by a significant drop in the number of charges. Since 1996 magistrates are required to investigate allegations of blasphemy to see whether they are credible before filing formal charges. [2a] From 1986 to 1993 over 200 Ahmadis were charged with blasphemy, although none were convicted. [7c] According to Amnesty International, in 1996 some 120 members of the Ahmadi community were charged with religious offences, including blasphemy. Ahmadis charged with blasphemy were often denied bail. [4b] "
http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/default.asp?PageId=692