Tag: Mumtaz Qadri

‘No grounds for review of Supreme Court ruling’ – Asia Bibi’s lawyer, who fled Pakistan

November 5, 2018 Pakistan Asia Bibi, Blasphemy, Imran Khan, Islamic extremism, Mumtaz Qadri, Pakistan, Prophet Muhammad, Salmaan Taseer, Shahzad Masih, Shama Bibi, Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan

The lawyer who defended the Pakistani Christian woman Asia Bibi* against blasphemy charges and secured her acquittal at the Supreme Court says he does not expect a review of her case to take place. As part of its agreement with an Islamist political party to stop its violent protests, the . . . Read More

‘A victory for Pakistan and millions of its marginalised people’ – son of governor who was killed for defence of innocent Asia Bibi

October 31, 2018 Pakistan Asia Bibi, Blasphemy, Islamabad, Islamic extremism, Lahore, Minorities, Mumtaz Qadri, Pakistan, Salmaan Taseer, Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan

Shahbaz Taseer. (Photo: beenasarwar.com)

Demonstrations were held in several cities in Pakistan following the acquittal of Asia Bibi of blasphemy charges by the Supreme Court earlier today (31 October). However, the numbers were in the hundreds rather than the thousands that might have been anticipated. And the son of the ex-Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer, . . . Read More

Pakistani mother Asia Bibi wins appeal against death sentence for blasphemy

October 31, 2018 Pakistan Asia Bibi, Blasphemy, Imran Khan, Islamabad, Islamic extremism, Lahore, Minorities, Mumtaz Qadri, Pakistan, Salmaan Taseer, Shahbaz Bhatti, Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan

Asia Bibi is finally free, almost one decade after she was first imprisoned. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian woman on death row for blasphemy since 2010, has won her final appeal. She is expected to be freed from prison soon, but there are still fears for her personal safety, as many in the country still believe that she should die. Her case has divided . . . Read More

Pakistan’s Supreme Court hears Asia Bibi’s ‘blasphemy’ appeal but delays ruling

October 8, 2018 Pakistan Asia Bibi, Blasphemy, Islamabad, Mumtaz Qadri, Pakistan, Salmaan Taseer, Shahbaz Bhatti, Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan

Aasiya Noreen, a Pakistani Christian woman, has been on death row for over eight years for alleged blasphemy. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Pakistan’s Supreme Court has finally heard the much-delayed appeal of Asia Bibi, the first Christian woman sentenced to death under Pakistan’s blasphemy law, today, 8 October, in the capital, Islamabad. It has not announced its decision, saying it will “reserve judgment” for several days or possibly weeks. Aasiya Noreen, commonly . . . Read More

Blasphemers should be put to death, says one Pakistan party as elections near

July 11, 2018 Pakistan Asia Bibi, Blasphemy, Elections, Islamabad, Lahore, Minorities, Mumtaz Qadri, Pakistan, Punjab, Salmaan Taseer, Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan

Ahead of Pakistan’s general elections later this month, the newly established Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) party is gaining traction with its anti-blasphemy agenda, Al-Jazeera reports. The party calls for blasphemers against Islam to be put to death and for those who kill alleged blasphemers to be celebrated. Its election posters often . . . Read More

Gunman shoots Pakistan minister over blasphemy law

May 9, 2018 Pakistan Asia Bibi, Blasphemy, Catholics, Islamabad, Islamic extremism, Minorities, Mumtaz Qadri, Narowal, Pakistan, Prophet Muhammad, Punjab, Salmaan Taseer, Shahbaz Bhatti, Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan

Pakistan’s interior minister, who has championed the country’s minority communities, has survived an assassination attempt by a gunman protesting against the country’s blasphemy laws. Ahsan Iqbal was shot in the arm before police overpowered his suspected attacker, 21-year-old Abid Hussain, the BBC reported. Iqbal was shot on Sunday (6 May) . . . Read More

Pakistan’s anti-blasphemy protests showcase minorities’ plight

November 27, 2017 Pakistan Asia Bibi, Barelvi, Blasphemy, Gujranwala, Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Minorities, Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, Mumtaz Qadri, Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan, Pakistan Muslim League, Peshawar, Prophet Muhammad, Punjab, Rawalpindi, Salmaan Taseer, Sheikhupura, Sufi, Sunni, Taliban, Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan

In November there were widespread anti-blasphemy protests in Islamabad and other cities in reaction to proposed changes to an election law. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Anti-blasphemy protests in Pakistan have once again highlighted the fragile position of the country’s religious minorities. Life in various parts of Pakistan virtually came to a halt on Saturday (25 November) after the police, paramilitary and other law enforcement agencies clashed with rioters in the capital, Islamabad, resulting in protests . . . Read More

70 years after Pakistan’s founding, what PM’s recent ousting means for minorities

August 14, 2017 Pakistan Blasphemy, Divorce, Imran Khan, India, Islamic extremism, Jamaat-e-Islami, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, Mumtaz Qadri, Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan, Pakistan Muslim League, Pakistan Peoples Party, PTI, Punjab, Salmaan Taseer, Sindh, Taliban

70th Annual General Assembly Debate

Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, Prime Minister of Pakistan, addresses the general debate of the General Assembly’s seventieth session.

30 September 2015

United Nations, New York

Photo # 646792

UN Photo/Cia Pak

Pakistan celebrates its 70th birthday today (14 August). And there’s a new Prime Minister after Nawaz Sharif, founder of the largest political party, was disqualified by the apex court on 29 July on charges of not being “righteous” and “ameen”*. This Supreme Court decision about Sharif “will throw the governing . . . 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

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

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