The Asian Human Rights Commission reports that Pakistan’s blasphemy law continues to claim victims, while outrages against human rights tolerated by the government and court system include the forced conversion of almost 2,000 Hindu and Christian girls, many of whom were kidnapped and raped. At least 161 people were indicted and nine were killed in extrajudicial executions in 2011 because of accusations of blasphemy that “are false in 95 percent of cases.” The commission documented the killing of 18 human rights activists and 16 journalists last year. Among the 2011 victims were Punjab’s Governor Salman Taseer and the federal minister for minorities, Shabhaz Bhatti. These “murders [were] committed by religious extremist groups infiltrated in the police force,” according to the commission.
Human Rights Crisis In Pakistan
Show Comments (
)
Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
The latest from america
The direct action of San Diego Bishop Michael Pham is likely to leave a stronger impression in the minds of the public—and of the immigrants who are circling in and out of court—than any written statement.
“This is not policy, it is punishment, and it can only result in cruel and arbitrary outcomes.”
“Let diplomacy silence the guns!” Pope Leo XIV told the crowd in St. Peter’s Square a few hours after the United States entered the Iran-Israel war by bombing three of Iran’s nuclear sites.
Pope Leo XIV’s statement was read at the premiere of a play about the Peruvian investigative journalist Paola Ugaz, who was subject to death threats because of her reporting on sexual abuse.