Pakistan Court Acquits Second Christian Of Blasphemy

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent

LAHORE, PAKISTAN (Worthy News) – A court in Pakistan has acquitted a second Christian of blasphemy, just days after another believer was also cleared of similar charges.

Worthy News learned Friday that a sessions court in the Pakistani city of Lahore ordered the acquittal and release of Zafar Masih Swati.

The Christian man had been charged under Section 295-B of the Pakistan Penal Code for the alleged desecration of the Koran, deemed a holy book by Muslims.

Swati had been detained in Lahore Camp Jail since January 2025, Christians told Worthy News.

“After reviewing the evidence and legal record, the court found insufficient grounds to sustain the prosecution’s case,” confirmed advocacy group LEAD Ministries, which closely followed the case.

SECOND ACQUITTAL

Additional Sessions Judge Abdul Ghaffar ordered Swati’s immediate release, Worthy News learned.

The ruling comes just days after another acquittal in Lahore, where the same court cleared Nadeem Masih, a blind Christian man who potentially faced the death penalty for alleged blasphemy against Islam.

Masih had been charged under Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code. “It is a blasphemy provision that carries the possibility of the death penalty,” LEAD Ministries founder Sardar Mushtaq Gill told Worthy News.

Christians said the charges were false, and the court agreed, ending months of legal uncertainty for the 49-year-old Christian laborer.

The latest acquittals add “to a growing number of cases in which Pakistani courts have dismissed blasphemy allegations due to lack of evidence or procedural shortcomings,” LEAD Ministries observed in a statement to Worthy News.

PERSECUTION CONTINUES

“For many observers, it highlights both the importance of judicial scrutiny and the persistent vulnerabilities faced by religious minorities in Pakistan’s legal and social environment,” Gill told Worthy News.

Pakistan ranks eighth on the 2026 World Watch List of countries where Christians face the most severe persecution, according to the Christian advocacy group Open Doors.

The organization says believers endure widespread discrimination, violence, forced conversions, and the frequent misuse of blasphemy laws, with accusations often triggering mob attacks or lengthy imprisonment even before courts reach a verdict.

Christian advocates say the latest court rulings demonstrate the importance of an independent judiciary, particularly in cases involving Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy laws.

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