ICC Note:
Christians in Pakistan have complained of a double standard being applied when it comes to enforcing the country’s controversial blasphemy laws to religious minorities. When applied in a case where the accused is a Muslims, in many cases the accused just has to apologize publicly before being let go. When applied in a case where a Christian is accused, it is very difficult to stop Pakistan’s courts from passing down a death sentence. Please pray for Christians forced to live under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws.
5/20/2014 Pakistan (Worthy News) – Nazir Bhatti, President of the Pakistan Christian Congress, said his country has a double standard when it comes to enforcing its own blasphemy laws.
When Muslims commit blasphemy before millions of witnesses, they are pardoned after a simple apology note, said Bhatti. But when a Christian, or Ahmadiyyia is accused of blasphemy by just one Muslim witness, they face the death sentence.
Bhatti’s remarks concerned a popular Muslim TV host who supposedly committed blasphemy before millions of viewers without a single police report lodged against him. But when Asia Bibi — a Christian mother of five — is accused of blasphemy by a handful of her Muslim co-workers, she is promptly arrested.
Christians are often arrested for blasphemy charges by the complaint of only one Muslim — usually after a personal dispute or argument — and then are put behind bars for years in miserable conditions while awaiting trial, assuming they ever live to get their day in court.
Christians were burnt alive in their own homes, Christians were brutally murdered in court compounds, Christians were gunned downed and Christian worship places were attacked by Muslim mobs just on the pretext of blasphemy, but no Muslim blasphemer is ever arrested in Pakistan, said Bhatti.
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