Blasphemy laws in Pakistan are a serious violation of the freedom of religion, but murders of critics go unpunished

According to the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP), the blasphemy laws in Pakistan's penal code are a serious violation of the freedom of religion. The human rights organization criticized the fact that critics are already in acute danger if they merely express their opinion in a public discussion – while murders of blasphemy critics, such as the death of the human rights advocate Rashid Rehman one year ago, go unpunished. Further cases concerning murders of blasphemy critics in April 2015 and September 2014 have not yet been resolved either.

The STP criticized that the Pakistani courts continue to enforce the harsh blasphemy laws. Thus, a court in the city of Lahore sentenced the Muslim Zulfiqar to 25 years in prison for blasphemy only last Tuesday . In addition, he is to pay a heavy fine and his property will be confiscated. It is especially the Christians and Ahmadiyya Muslims who suffer from the blasphemy laws in Pakistan, as they are often randomly accused by their neighbors.

The assassination of the respected human rights advocate Rashid Rehman one year ago had gotten worldwide attention. The 53-year-old was killed on the evening of May 7, 2014, in his office in the city of Multan. Previously, he had taken over the defense of a lecturer at the University of Multan who had been accused of blasphemy. Muslim extremists had already threatened to kill him in the courtroom.

"In the case of Rashid Rehman, the investigations of the local police have not yet brought any new facts," reported Delius. Neither the witnesses of the prior death threats nor the victim's employees (who were also injured in the attack) were heard. Instead, the police suggested that Saim Hassan – a suspected member of the terrorist group "Ahmed Farooq", which is close to al Qaeda – was responsible for the murder, while the investigation authorities stated that the suspect had been killed in a firefight with the police on July 8, 2014. Relatives of the murdered lawyer are accusing the police of delaying and obstructing the punishment of the murderer on purpose.

In the case of university lecturer Waheed ur Rehman – who was shot dead in Karachi on April 29, 2015, presumably by hired assassins – there aren't any investigation results either. The 42-year-old Sunni scientist was a student of the liberal Muslim lecturer Muhammad Shakil Auj, who was murdered on September 18, 2014. Waheed ur Rehman had taught at the University of Karachi. He was accused of blasphemy shortly before his assassination.

Header Photo: Flickr/crashtastic