News Desk
KARACHI: Members of the Christian community and civil society gathered in front of the Karachi Press Club (KPC) to protest the death sentence handed down to a Christian youth by an antiterrorism court in Punjab in a blasphemy case.
The Sahiwal ATC Special Judge Ziaullah Khan sentenced the accused to death for allegedly circulating a social media post that incited riots in Jaranwala in August last year. The riots led to the vandalism and ransacking of dozens of Christian homes and around 20 churches following allegations of Quran desecration.
On Tuesday, demonstrators, including women and representatives from the Christian community, Minority Rights March, Aurat March, and civil society, gathered outside KPC. They carried banners and placards with slogans such as “Stop misuse of blasphemy law,” “Pakistan is the Israel to religious minorities,” and “Death sentence for those who burned churches.”
Christian pastor Ghazala Shafiq expressed concerns to AFP, stating, “Day by day, Pakistan is becoming a country where minorities aren’t safe anymore. People can do whatever they want to do with us.”
The lawyer of the convicted youth, Akmal Bhatti, highlighted the disparity in justice, saying, “The people responsible for the riots in Jaranwala are still awaiting trial, while my client has already been given the death sentence. It was the speeches from the mosques that instigated the riots, not this post on social media.”