News Desk
Rawalpindi, October 6, 2025:
Pakistani Christians and human rights activists have expressed deep sorrow over the death of Pastor Zafar Bhatti, who passed away three days after being released from prison, where he spent 13 years facing what many describe as a fabricated blasphemy charge.
Pastor Bhatti, 62, founder of the Jesus World Mission Church in Rawalpindi, reportedly died of cardiac arrest on October 5 at his home in Rawalpindi, Punjab province. He was released on October 2 after the Rawalpindi Bench of the Lahore High Court overturned his blasphemy conviction.
Bhatti, who left behind his wife and had no children, had been arrested in July 2012 after a local cleric accused him of sending blasphemous text messages.
He was allegedly tortured in custody to extract a confession. Under Pakistan’s Penal Code, blasphemy—particularly defamation of Islam carries severe punishments, including life imprisonment and the death penalty.
He was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2017, a verdict that was upheld in 2021 and later converted to a death sentence in 2022.
According to reports, Bhatti’s health deteriorated significantly during his imprisonment. Initially healthy, he later developed diabetes, hypertension, vision loss, and severe heart disease, reportedly suffering heart attacks in 2019 and 2020.
Sources close to the family said that despite repeated appeals, he received inadequate medical attention while in prison. He was allegedly denied access to specialized cardiac care and was only attended by general physicians.
His prolonged incarceration also took a toll on his family. His wife, elderly and unwell, became bedridden during his imprisonment.
Human Rights Advocate, Jansen Joseph commenting on the incident, pointed at having his trial and conviction as deeply unjust, lamenting that no compensation or legal recourse is expected for his years of wrongful detention, he added
Furthermore, Joseph urged the authorities to bring the legal reforms to penalize the wrong accusers of blasphemy, when proven wrong by the court.
Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, originally inherited from the British colonial penal code, were made more stringent during the 1980s under General Zia ul-Haq’s regime, introducing life and death sentences for blasphemy-related offenses.
Source: https://www.ucanews.com/news/pakistani-christians-mourn-blasphemy-convict-pastor/110536