Christians Excluded from Blasphemy Cases for Acquittal
By Joseph DeCaro, Worthy News Correspondent
ISLAMABAD (Worthy News)– Pakistan’s Punjab Province has excluded Christians from a list of defendants who will have their blasphemy cases expedited for acquittal for lack of evidence, according to Morning Star News.
“We are not opposed to the government’s support to Muslims wrongly accused of blasphemy, but all citizens of the state should be treated equally and without any prejudice,” said Sajid Ishaq, chairman of the Pakistan Interfaith League. “We demand that the government also review cases of Christian blasphemy accused, so that our innocent people are not left to rot in jails for a crime they have not committed.”
Christian rights activist Napolean Qayyum insisted that the government scrutinize all blasphemy cases based only on their merit.
“This should be done regardless of the accused person’s faith,” said Qayyum. “It’s a common fact that Pakistan’s blasphemy laws are used to settle personal scores and vendettas and all people could be targeted with these laws. A large number of Muslims are languishing in jails on false charges, but so are Christians; so we urge the government to treat all such cases on parity.”