The son of a senior politician murdered six years ago for criticising Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy law has been accused of committing “hate speech” for echoing the criticism.
Shaan Taseer, son of the former Punjab Governor Salman Taseer, said the law was “inhumane” during a filmed Christmas message shared via social media.
Shaan Taseer also expressed solidarity with Asia Bibi, the Christian woman on death row for more than seven years. His father’s support of Asia Bibi was thought to be another reason for his assassination by his own bodyguard, Mumtaz Qadri, who was subsequently executed.
Punjab Police registers case of 295A (hate speech) under #NationalActionPlan against my #ChristmasMessage pic.twitter.com/EMbXNuM5dz
— Shaan Taseer (@ShaanTaseer) December 31, 2016
The same Islamist organisation which issued a fatwa against Shaan Taseer for his “apostasy” and “blasphemy” then issued another fatwa against senior Pakistani politician Imran Khan for allegedly insulting Islam’s prophet.
Meanwhile, at least 27 Christians have died and dozens more are seriously ill, after drinking toxic alcohol over Christmas. Alcohol is permitted for non-Muslims in Pakistan, but poorer citizens, including many Christians, usually cannot afford licensed alcohol.
Sources: Daily Pakistan, NYT, Pakistan Defence