Blasphemy law in Pakistan
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The blasphemy law in Pakistan is found in several sections of the Pakistan Penal Code, including Section 295 B and C and 298 A, B, and C. It imposes a variety of penalties for different forms of blasphemy, including the death penalty for anyone found to have "by words or visible representation or by an imputation or insinuation, directly or indirectly, defiled the name of the Muhammad of Islam". Similarly anyone blamed as a blasphemer against the Koran would be awarded life imprisonment under section 295/C.
Among Muslim-majority countries, Pakistan has very strict anti-blasphemy law. In 1982, President Zia ul-Haq introduced Section 295B to the Pakistan Penal Code punishing "defiling the Holy Qur'an" with life imprisonment. In 1986, Section 295C was introduced, mandating the death penalty for "use of derogatory remarks in respect of the Holy Prophet".
In 1990 the Federal Shari’ah Court ruled that the penalty should be a mandatory death sentence, with no right to a reprieve or pardon. This is binding, but the government is yet to formally amend the law, which means that the provision for a life sentence still formally exists, and is used by the government as a concession to critics of the death penalty. In 2004, the Pakistani parliament approved a law to reduce the scope of the blasphemy laws. The amendment to the law means that police officials will have to investigate accusations of blasphemy to ensure that they are well founded, before presenting criminal charges.
However, the law is sometimes used against political adversaries or personal enemies, or by Muslim fundamentalists against religious minorities, or for personal revenge. Ahmadi-muslims are especially victimized by the blasphemy-law. They claim to be muslims themselves, but under the blasphemy-law, they are not allowed to use islamic vocabulary or rituals.
The Pakistani Catholic bishops' Justice and Peace Commission complained in July 2005 that since 1988, some 650 people had been falsely accused and arrested under the blasphemy law. Moreover, over the same period, some 20 people accused of the same offense had been killed. As of July 2005, 80 Christians were in prison after being accused of blasphemy.
Pakistan's blasphemy laws allow the word of just one witness to incriminate a "heretic".
