it is disturbing to see how easy it has become to target a Christian because of her beliefs and curb freedom of expression, thought, conscience, or religion. The abuse of blasphemy laws against religious minorities has increased exponentially in Pakistan as false accusations of blasphemy are often motivated to settle personal vendettas or property disputes or religious prejudice.

The chairperson of Voice for Justice, Joseph Jansen

Islamabad 29 March: The human rights activists have expressed their grave concerns over the rejection faced by Shagufta Kiran for its post-arrest bail application filed under section 497 of the Criminal Procedure Code in the court of Special Judge Central FIA Islamabad. They have urged the courts to release the accused facing imprisonment on fabricated charges of blasphemy, and urged that the police and court to ensure a fair investigation and trial of such cases.

On March 21, Justice Muhammad Azam Khan of the Special Judge Central FIA court, refused to grant bail to the petitioner Shagufta Kiran, a Christian woman, mother of four children, who has been behind bars for over nineteen months now in a fabricated case of blasphemy carrying the death penalty in Pakistan.

On March 23, Rana Abdul Hameed, the lawyer hired by Voice for Justice to represent Shagufta Kiran before the court, argued that the accused is innocent and has been falsely inflicted in a baseless case due to mala fide of the complainant, even though the case could not be registered without government authorities' special permission, which is envisaged in section 196 and other relevant provisions of Cr.Pc.

No material is available on record to attribute to the accused behind the commission of the alleged offense, and the facts of the case carry doubts and demand further investigation. Therefore Shagufta deserved a grant of bail, which the court dismisses.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Cybercrime Wing arrested Shagufta Kiran on July 29, 2021, for expressing her opinion during a discussion on religion in a WhatsApp group called “Pure Discussion’’. Her remakes were allegedly considered to be disrespectful towards the religion ‘Islam’ by the complainant Sheraz Ahmed Farooqi and she was charged under section 11 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016, 295-A, 298-A, 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code, and 295-C, which is punishable by death.

The four children of Shagufta Kiran were fasting and praying on the day of the court hearing to see their mother and were disappointed by the decision of the court where it dismissed the application for bail, which brought more pain and trauma to the entire family. “God put us in a great temptation.” I hope one day my mother will be released as she is innocent, said Nihaal, the daughter of Kiran.

He lamented that the authorities have badly failed to ensure a fair investigation and trial, as the complainants and witnesses involved in leveling false allegations against the accused are not effectively prosecuted for charges of perjury under Section 182 of the Pakistan Penal Code whose punishment extends to 5-7 years. The provision, if enforced, could help change the mindset and direction of the stakeholders involved and the public about how to respond to such accusations.

Human rights activist, Ashkinaz Khokhar said that the government needs to make serious efforts to prevent the misuse of blasphemy laws and the immunity enjoyed by complainant despite making false accusation. He stressed that the government should reform the blasphemy laws by addressing the disproportionate penalties, making blasphemy-related offenses bailable, and ensuring that the arrest or investigation should not happen without judicial warrants, which was lacking in the case of Shagufta Kiran.