Pakistan reported a total of 1,415 cases of blasphemy in the country since 1947, a think tank, Centre for Research and Security Studies, said on Tuesday, reported DAWN…reports Asian Lite News
According to the think tank report, a total of 18 women and 71 men were extra-judicially killed over blasphemy from 1947 to 2021.
However, as per the think tank, the actual number of cases is believed to be higher as not all cases are reported.
“The actual number is believed to be higher because not all blasphemy cases get reported in the press,” the report said, adding more than 70 percent of the accused were reported from Punjab.
The data shows that 55 cases were filed in the Islamabad Capital Territory. This is more than the cases of blasphemy in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) put together.
Moreover, 1,098 cases were reported from Punjab followed by 177 from Sindh, 33 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 12 from Balochistan, and 11 from PoK.
The debate in Pakistan around blasphemy is whether “people disrespecting Islam should be punished” or “people are falsely accused to settle personal scores”.
One group in society is calling out for a review of the blasphemy laws in order to avoid and deter their abuse.
At the same time, murderers say that the victims are ‘wajibul qatal,’ a very problematic word that loosely translates to “worthy of being murdered,” since they committed an unforgivable religious transgression, reported DAWN.
Death penalty
Recently, a Pakistan sessions court in Rawalpindi handed the death penalty to a Muslim woman on charges of blasphemy.
The sessions court has also awarded the woman named Aneeqa Ateeq 20 years imprisonment besides imposing a fine of Rs 150,000 as the accused failed to prove her innocence. The accused was convicted under section 295-C PPC and sentenced to death and a fine of Rs 50000. She is to be hanged by her neck till she is dead,” ruled Additional District & Sessions Judge (ADSJ) Adnan Mushtaq in his verdict, according to the Nation.
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Further, the judge said the accused is also convicted under section 295-A of PPC and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment along with fine of Rs 50000. In case of default in payment of fine the convict shall undergo imprisonment of six months, as mentioned by the Nation.
Meanwhile, the accused has been further convicted under section 298-A of PPC and sentenced to 3 years rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 50000 and she will serve more than six months behind the bars in case of nonpayment of fine.
Ateeq was also convicted under section 11 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016 and sentenced to 7 years of rigorous imprisonment with fine of Rs 50000.
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The woman’s counsel had argued that the suspect was of unsound mind at the time of occurrence, and the magistrate concerned had ordered a mental examination of the suspect which remained pending without any fault on the part of the suspect.
A state prosecutor submitted before the court that the prosecution proved its case on the basis of oral and documentary evidence, as reported by Nation. (ANI)