Pakistani Christians Charged with Blasphemy Are Granted Bail

A Christian couple who were detained last month on accusations of blasphemy were given bail by a Lahore, Pakistan, court. On September 8, the couple, Shaukat Masih and Kiran Shaukat, were charged with hurling torn pages of the Koran from their home.

Desecrating the Koran is punishable by a mandatory life sentence under Pakistan Penal Code Section 295-B. A local Muslim accused the couple of hurling torn pages of the Koran from their home’s roof, leading to their arrest and prosecution under Section 295-B of the blasphemy statutes. Zahid Nazeer, the couple’s lawyer, maintained their innocence by pointing out that they were not there when the alleged incident happened.

The couple’s lawyer pointed out that there was no proof the couple had done the alleged act knowingly or purposefully. The couple cannot be held responsible for the desecration of the holy pages because two of their three minor children have physical and mental disabilities. A generous Muslim man in Britain employed the couple and paid them to look after his property, one of which had the couple’s family residing in one of its rooms.

Similar circumstances led to the release of a Christian woman on bail in Arifwala after she was charged with burning documents that contained verses from the Koran. Musarrat Bibi was accused of blasphemy after she was arrested while working at the Government Girls Higher Secondary School in the Arifwala tehsil of the Pakpattan District. Pakistan is ranked seventh on Open Doors’ 2023 World Watch List of the most difficult places for Christians to live.