BBC News, 11
October 2012
 |
| Rights activists have long urged Pakistan to reform blasphemy laws |
A
16-year-old Christian boy has been charged with blasphemy in the Pakistani city
of Karachi.
The boy,
named by police as Ryan Stanten, is said to have forwarded a text message which
allegedly contained offensive material on Tuesday.
The
following day an angry crowd ransacked his family home, setting fire to their
belongings on the street.
 |
A Pakistani police official and a Christian
volunteer escort a young Christian girl
accused of blasphemy, towards a
helicopter following her release from
central prison on the outskirts of
Rawalpindi
Pakistan's blasphemy laws
After partition in 1947 Pakistan inherited
offences relating to religion, which were
first codified by India's British rulers in 1860
In the 1980s clauses were added to the
laws by the military government of General
Zia-ul Haq
One clause recommends life imprisonment
for "wilful" desecration of the Koran.
Another says blasphemy is punishable by
death or life imprisonment
Muslims constitute a majority of those
booked under these laws, followed by
the minority Ahmadi community
A majority support the idea that
blasphemers should be punished, but there
is little understanding of what religious
scripture says as opposed to how the
modern law is codified
|
Pakistan's
blasphemy laws have been criticised for their severity and for being open to
abuse.
There has
been renewed focus on the laws ever since a young Pakistani Christian girl was
arrested in August on blasphemy charges after a mob accused her of burning the
Koran.
Following
an outcry over the case, Rimsha Masih, who is thought to be 14 years old but
with a younger mental age, was released on bail - an extremely rare move in
blasphemy cases.
Police in
Karachi say that the boy told local community leaders that he had forwarded the
message without reading it.
Reports say
he was taken to see local prayer leaders after the message was sent on Tuesday.
Blasphemy
is a highly sensitive issue in Pakistan, where 97% of the population are
Muslim. Critics say the laws are often used to settle personal vendettas.
In the
past, accusations of blasphemy have led to vigilante killings by mobs.
Rights
activists have long urged Pakistan to reform the laws, under which a person can
be jailed for life or sentenced to death.
In March
2011 Shahbaz Bhatti, the minister for minority affairs, was killed after
calling for the repeal of the blasphemy law.
His death
came just two months after the murder of Punjab Governor Salman Taseer, who
also spoke out about the issue.
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