Sajjad Masih, who was jailed for 10 years in a blasphemy case, was acquitted by a court. 

Lahore High Court orders release of Sajjad Masih, arrested in blasphemy case. 

Pakistan Christian Rights Watch

21-11-2021

Sajjad Masih has been in jail for the past ten years on charges of blasphemy. 

The laws of blasphemy in Pakistan are different from the laws of blasphemy introduced by the British in the subcontinent in the 19th century. 

Nearly a century before the partition of India, in 1860, the British had added three new laws to the Indian Penal Code, Sections 295, 296 and 298, due to the increasing religious offenses of a religious nature.  

He was found guilty of desecrating a place of worship, disrupting a religious ceremony and intentionally hurting religious sentiments.  

These laws made by the British were not specific to any particular religion nor did any of them prescribe the death penalty. 

After the enactment of these laws, five cases of blasphemy were registered in the subcontinent from 1860 to 1947, while eight cases of blasphemy were registered across the country from the formation of Pakistan till 1980, any of which The case was not for blasphemy against the Prophet or the Qur'an. 

Dictator General Zia-ul-Haq, who overthrew the government in 1977, 30 years after the formation of Pakistan, made further changes to the country's constitution during his 11-year rule, five of which were included in the blasphemy law.  

Under these amendments, 295-B is punishable by life imprisonment for desecrating the Qur'an, while the most important amendment, 295-C, is punishable by death or life imprisonment for insulting the Prophet of Islam. A fine was imposed. 

The Federal Shariah Court, set up by Zia-ul-Haq in 1990, ruled that blasphemy under section 295-C would be punishable only by death. 

Contrary to the laws imposed by the British, the blasphemy amendments included in Zia-ul-Haq's time focused only on desecration and insolence related to Islam. The second major change was that under the new law, unintentional blasphemy was now a crime. 

Since 1990, 70 to 80 people have been killed in Pakistan by angry mobs or mobs for blasphemy. 

According to various statistics, many people in Pakistan are currently on death row or life imprisonment for blasphemy and there are many cases that could not be fully recorded. The reason is that the person or persons affected in the case have somehow gone into hiding or managed to escape from the country by saving their lives. 

According to a survey, the average Christian affected by this law is more. 


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