09/26/2020 Bangladesh (International Christian Concern) – According to the Union of Catholic Asian News (UCAN), hundreds of Christians in Dhaka, Bangladesh participated in a demonstration calling for the repeal of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws.
The demonstration was organized by the Bangladesh Christian Association (BCA) and was held in the Gulshan diplomatic area of Dhaka. Protestors handed a memorandum to Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Imran Khan, calling for Christians and other religious minorities in Pakistan to be protected and for the country’s blasphemy laws to be repealed.
“No religion endorses violence and killing in the name of religion,” Nirmol Rozario, the BCA President, told the rally. “But in Pakistan, Christians and other minorities have been facing inhuman abuses and oppression in the guise of a draconian blasphemy law. We demand an end to oppression and safety of all minorities in Pakistan and immediate repeal of the blasphemy law.”
In Pakistan, false accusations of blasphemy are widespread and often motivated by personal vendettas or religious hatred. Accusations are highly inflammatory and have the potential to spark mob lynchings, vigilante murders, and mass protests.
Currently, 26 Christian are imprisoned on blasphemy charges in Pakistan. These 26 Christians are defendants in 23 blasphemy cases represented at various levels of the judicial process in Pakistan.
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