179 people in jail on blasphemy charges, Senate body informed

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights was informed that almost 179 people were behind bars and facing trials across the country on charges of blasphemy, ARY News reported on Friday.

According to a report submitted by the National Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (NHRC), 179 people were behind bars and facing trials on charges of blasphemy, while 17 had been sentenced.

Breaking down the figures by provinces, the report pointed out that 17 people were detained in Islamabad, 18 in Punjab, 78 in Sindh, 55 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), and one in Balochistan.

The report further stated that 17 persons had been convicted so far of which 11 were from Islamabad, four from Sindh and 2 from Balochistan. No conviction was made from Punjab and KP, the report added.

Moreover, the report mentioned that 12 people have not yet been arrested on blasphemy charges in Punjab.

Earlier in January 2023, a local court in Rawalpindi awarded death sentence to a woman after her conviction in promoting blasphemous content on social media.

A woman was sentenced to death by an additional district and session judge after she was found guilty of promoting blasphemous content on social media. The court also pronounced a 20-year jail term and an Rs150,000 fine to the accused woman.

A case had been lodged against Aniqa Ateeq with Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Cyber Crime Circle Rawalpindi chapter over the complaint of Hasnat Farooq in 2020. The case was registered under the section of blasphemy, contempt of religion and anti-cybercrime act.