Tag: Punjab

Pakistan court clears Rimsha; location remains secret as risk remains

November 20, 2012 Pakistan Asia Bibi, Blasphemy, Islamabad, Mumtaz Qadri, Pakistan, Paul Bhatti, Prophet Muhammad, Punjab, Quran, Rawalpindi, Rimsha Masih, Salmaan Taseer

The case against Rimsha Masih, the teenage Pakistani Christian girl, has today been dropped by the court in the Pakistani capital Islamabad. Rimsha, who was arrested in August on suspicion of desecrating Islamic texts, was originally charged in an adult court with blasphemy; there the penalty was life imprisonment. The . . . Read More

Rimsha and family will stay in Pakistan, lawyer says

October 10, 2012 Pakistan Blasphemy, Children, Islamabad, Mardan, Pakistan, Paul Bhatti, Prophet Muhammad, Punjab, Rawalpindi

Rimsha Masih and her family will remain in Pakistan after her legal ordeal is over, one of her lawyers says. The teen-aged Pakistani girl, whose arrest in August on suspicion of desecrating Islamic texts, is due to appear in an Islamabad juvenile court Oct. 17. Originally charged in regular court . . . Read More

Rimsha leaves Pakistan jail, reunited with family, government says

September 7, 2012 Pakistan Asia Bibi, Blasphemy, Children, Islamabad, Mumtaz Qadri, Paul Bhatti, Prophet Muhammad, Punjab, Quran, Rimsha Masih, Salmaan Taseer, Shahbaz Bhatti, Women

Under heavy security, Rimsha Masih, the teenage Christian Pakistani girl accused of blasphemy, was whisked out of jail Saturdy to a waiting helicopter that government officials said took her to rejoin her family.The Pakistani news agency Dawn reported Rimsha, left Adiala Jail wering a green shirt and pants, and entered an armored . . . Read More

Teen accused of blasphemy will leave jail, but can’t go home, lawyer says

August 30, 2012 Pakistan Blasphemy, Children, Islamabad, Pakistan, Punjab, Quran, Rimsha Masih, Women

Rimsha Masih is likely to be cleared of the blasphemy charge against her, but never will be able to return home, her lawyer says. Tahir Naveed Chaudhry, who has taken up the defense of the young Christian girl whose case has renewed international debate about Pakistan’s notorious anti-blasphemy laws, said . . . Read More

Christian legislator in Pakistan stuck with Muslim ID

June 26, 2012 Pakistan Converts, Human rights, Islamic extremism, Minorities, Pakistan, Punjab

Pakistan’s rigid system of prohibiting Muslims from changing their religion status on their national ID cards nearly cost a Punjab politician his post – even though he has always been a Christian. Rana Asif Mahmood’s political opponents in April sought to disqualify him from the Punjab Provincial Assembly seat reserved . . . Read More

Christians in Pakistan allege seizure of graveyard

June 6, 2012 Pakistan Pakistan, Pakistan Muslim League, Punjab

Christians in a village in Punjab Province are fighting to save their decades-old graveyard from being converted into farmland by a retired army colonel, sources said. Because of the military man’s influence, police have refused to address the complaint by Christians of Bhondary Wala village in Narang Mandi in spite . . . Read More

Bhatti murder case in Pakistan increasingly murky

May 25, 2012 Pakistan Asia Bibi, Minorities, Pakistan, Paul Bhatti, Punjab, Rawalpindi, Salmaan Taseer, Shahbaz Bhatti, Taliban

The investigation into the murder of Pakistan’s only cabinet-level Christian, Shahbaz Bhatti, has become mired amid suspicions of a possible cover-up, sources said. Lax investigations, a series of freed suspects and lack of coordination across law enforcement organizations have stalled the case following the March 2, 2011 slaying of the . . . Read More

Pakistani Christian accused of ‘blasphemy’ after billiards dispute

May 22, 2012 Pakistan Blasphemy, Farooqabad, Pakistan, Punjab, Quran, Sheikhupura

Police in Pakistan have charged a young Christian man with “blasphemy” after he had an argument with Muslims over a billiards game in Punjab Province’s Sheikhupura district, his cousin said. Farooqabad Police arrested Sajid Inayat, 20, on Friday (May 18) and charged him with desecrating the Quran under the country’s . . . Read More

Christian acquitted of ‘blasphemy’ charge in Pakistan

April 17, 2012 Pakistan Blasphemy, Madrassas, Multan, Pakistan, Punjab

A Pakistani Christian falsely charged with “blasphemy” after rescuing his 8-year-old nephew from a beating at the hands of Muslim boys has been cleared of the charge. Dildar Masih, a 27-year-old father of two young children, was acquitted on March 26 after prosecutors failed to produce any evidence against him, . . . Read More

Pakistani woman charged with ‘blasphemy’ for refusing Islam

March 12, 2012 Pakistan Blasphemy, Pakistan, Prophet Muhammad, Punjab, Women

A young mother has been falsely accused of “blaspheming” Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, because she rebuffed attempts by relatives who had converted to Islam to force her to renounce her Christian faith, family members said. Police in Khichiwala, Bahawalnagar district, in Punjab Province, charged 26-year-old Shamim Bibi, mother of . . . Read More

Catching Our Eye