Tag: Asia Bibi

Islamic leader calls for prompt execution of Asia Bibi

April 20, 2017 Pakistan Asia Bibi, Blasphemy, Sunni Tehreek

A Muslim cleric in Pakistan has renewed calls for the hanging of Asia Bibi, the Christian woman who has spent seven years on death row, having been convicted of committing blasphemy. Mufti Muhammad Haneef Qureshi said the State’s failure to punish Bibi’s alleged blasphemy caused the death last week of . . . Read More

Who speaks for Islam in Pakistan – and where does that leave non-Muslims?

April 19, 2017 Pakistan Asia Bibi, Barelvi, Blasphemy, Deobandi, Islamic extremism, Mumtaz Qadri, Pakistan Muslim League, Salmaan Taseer, Shia, Sufi, Sunni, Taliban

Last week, a Muslim student was killed by a mob after posting allegedly “blasphemous” content on social media. His murder was the latest in a long line of religiously motivated attacks in Pakistan, many of which were inspired by the country’s strict blasphemy laws. Below, World Watch Monitor takes a look at . . . Read More

‘Blasphemy’ leads to another murder in Pakistan

April 19, 2017 Pakistan Asia Bibi, Mardan, Nawaz Sharif

Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, has urged his countrymen to collectively condemn the lynching of a Muslim student killed for allegedly posting “blasphemous” content on Facebook. Mashal Khan, 23, was reportedly “stripped, beaten, shot, and thrown from the second floor” of the Abdul Wali Khan University in Mardan, northern Pakistan, . . . Read More

Pakistani Christians call for ‘fair’ blasphemy inquiries

March 30, 2017 Pakistan Asia Bibi, Blasphemy, Human rights, Minorities, Pakistan, Quran

Christians call for fairer treatment in blasphemy inquiries, like the case of Asia Bibi.

Pakistani Christians are calling for fairer investigations into alleged blasphemy cases, after a Muslim man caught burning pages of the Quran was quickly acquitted, UCANews reports. After the man was beaten up and handed over to the authorities, the police found that he had been ‘mentally instable’ when he caused . . . Read More

Six years on, justice thwarted in case of Pakistan’s murdered Shahbaz Bhatti

March 3, 2017 Pakistan Asia Bibi, Blasphemy, Faisalabad, Islamabad, Pakistan Peoples Party, Paul Bhatti, Rawalpindi, Shahbaz Bhatti, Taliban

The memorial to Shahbaz Bhatti, which marks the location of his assassination. Islamabad, Pakistan.

Six years on, justice for the murdered Pakistani Christian federal cabinet member Shahbaz Bhatti remains elusive, as does the social equality for which he gave his life. The Christian community says the Pakistani political leadership is not doing enough to ask the police and the judiciary to ensure his killers . . . Read More

Pakistani Christian accused of blasphemy after ripped Qur’an found outside home

January 6, 2017 Pakistan Asia Bibi, Blasphemy, Imran Khan, Islamic extremism, Lahore, Mumtaz Qadri, Salmaan Taseer, Shaan Taseer, Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan

A Pakistani Christian could face 10 years in jail or even the death sentence after torn pages from a copy of the Qur’an were found outside his home, with his name written on them. Babu Shahbaz Masih, 40, from the Kamahan district of Lahore, was arrested on 30 December after . . . Read More

Governor Taseer’s son accused of hate speech

January 3, 2017 Pakistan Apostasy, Asia Bibi, Blasphemy, Christmas, Imran Khan, Mumtaz Qadri, Pakistan, Prophet Muhammad, Salmaan Taseer, Shaan Taseer

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 . . . Read More

Asia Bibi’s appeal delayed; 150 Islamic leaders call for her to hang, whatever the outcome

October 13, 2016 Pakistan Asia Bibi, Blasphemy, Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, Mumtaz Qadri, Salmaan Taseer, Sunni Tehreek

After more than seven years in prison, the first Pakistani Christian woman to be sentenced to death for blasphemy has had her Supreme Court appeal delayed, amidst renewed Islamist calls for her to die. Aasiya Noreen, commonly known as Asia Bibi, in prison since the summer of 2009, was arrested . . . Read More

Pakistani Christian shot, family attacked after he asks for pay

June 22, 2016 Pakistan Asia Bibi, Blasphemy, Kasur

The Pakistani district of Kasur became infamous in late 2014 when a young Christian couple were brutally attacked by a mob and burned alive. The trial of their attackers is still going on. Now a Christian peasant in a remote village in the same area has been beaten up after . . . Read More

Pakistan hangs killer of Governor who challenged blasphemy law

February 29, 2016 Pakistan Asia Bibi, Blasphemy, Salmaan Taseer, Shaan Taseer, Shahbaz Bhatti

Mumtaz Qadri after his arrest following the assassination of Punjab Governor Salman Taseer in 2011. (Photo: courtesy of Dawn)

Pakistan has executed the murderer of Punjab Governor Salman Taseer, who had justified the 2011 assassination upon Taseer’s desire for reforms in the blasphemy law, and for his support of Asia Noreen, a Christian woman condemned to death for blasphemy. Mumtaz Qadri was hanged early today (Monday, 29 Feb.), after . . . Read More

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