Pakistani minister says blasphemy law will stay in place

Jardine Malado Friday, February 03, 2017

Men pray over the grave of Mumtaz Qadri, the man Pakistan executed last year for assassinating a governor who proposed reforming the country's blasphemy laws, during their visit to Qadri's shrine on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan, January 5, 2017. | Reuters/Faisal Mahmood

A Pakistani official has stated that the federal government has no plans to amend or repeal the country's controversial blasphemy law.

Religious affairs minister Sardar Mohammad Yousuf claimed that the prime minister and his cabinet members do not disapprove of the said law.

Last month, Senator Farhatullah Babar said that the Senate Committee on Human Rights is set to debate the blasphemy laws based on the recommendations of a 24-year-old report. He stated that the committee would consider a proposal that would require an investigation of a complaint before a case is registered to ensure that the law is not being used to settle scores.

Yousuf, however, denied that the government is considering any amendments to the law.

"I want to make it clear that our government is not going to amend or repeal blasphemy law. The law will remain as it is and that those blaspheming against Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) will face the gallows," Yousuf told reporters on Tuesday, as reported by Daily Pakistan.

Meanwhile, Interior Minister of Pakistan Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has denied that Christians and religious minorities are suffering because of the abuse of the blasphemy laws, the British Pakistani Christian Association reported.

He contended that most of those who are accused of blasphemy were Muslims. Citing statistics from Sindh province, he stated that 99 out of 129 registered cases of blasphemy were against Muslims. He further noted that no blasphemy cases have been registered in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit Baltistan.

"These facts point towards the fact that religious minorities are not being embroiled in blasphemy cases more than Muslims," said Khan. "In essence, religious minorities are not being targeted by the blasphemy laws," he added.

Statistics from the Center for Research and Security Studies have indicated that hundreds of Pakistanis are currently on death row for blasphemy convictions, and at least 65 people have been killed over allegations of blasphemy since 1990.

There are some conservatives in Pakistan who consider even criticizing the laws as blasphemy. In 2011, Pakistani Governor Salman Taseer was killed by his bodyguard after he called for a reform of the blasphemy laws. The assassin was hailed as a hero by religious hardliners and thousands attended his funeral after he was executed last year.