A non-profit organization in Pakistan claimed that more than 400,000 people were allegedly involved in “blasphemous” activities in the Muslim-majority country, citing a report submitted to the Lahore High Court by the Cybercrime Wing of the country’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
On February 11, a Pakistani man accused of blasphemy was dragged outside a police station by an angry mob in the country’s eastern province of Punjab and lynched, Pakistani authorities said.
Another mob lynching over alleged blasphemy in Pakistan. Unbearable to watch the video of the mob, which even includes children, kicking and beating a dead man. The police ran away to save themselves. Just sickening.
After Pakistan blocked Wikipedia for three days over accusations of not removing allegedly blasphemous content, the online encyclopedia is up and running again.
On February 3, the Wikimedia Foundation, the organization that manages the popular crowd-sourced online directory, announced via Twitter that Pakistan’s Telecommunications Authority blocked Wikipedia and its other projects.
On January 30th, an Islamist suicide bombing occurred inside a Peshawar, Pakistan, mosque. As the number of victims rose throughout the day, police and rescue officials had reached a final death toll of 101 within 24 hours. Many of the victims were crushed under the collapsed roof. Over 200 were injured.
Last year, a trial court in Pakistan sentenced an innocent Christian man to death by hanging for committing blasphemy against Prophet Muhammad. The man was a minor when he was falsely accused of a crime he did not commit.
The National Assembly of Pakistan has increased the punishment for disrespecting “sacred personalities.”
On January 17th, The National Assembly unanimously passed the Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill to increase punishment for the disrespect of Ahl-e-Bait, Khulfa-e-Rashideen, Sahaba-e-Kiram, and Ummahatul Momineen.
Cases of custodial torture in blasphemy cases raise concern among Pakistani rights activists.
Human rights activists in Pakistan have urged the authorities to modify some of the principles of criminal justice to ensure the grounds for fair trials and express their concern about the rapid increase in cases of custodial torture in the country.
On November 1, a federal court in Pakistan instructed an officer representing Baluchistan Province to submit a report regarding the marriage of a five-year-old girl in his district, as well as an overview of the practice of child marriage and what steps are being taken to stop it.
The Pakistani Taliban declared an end to the ceasefire agreed with the Pakistani government last June and commanded its fighters to carry out attacks all over the country.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban, cited the Pakistani military’s increasing operations against them in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as the primary reason for their decision to end the ceasefire with the government.
