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
Pope Francis' continued "gradual, slight improvement" is a sign that he is responding to the therapy he is receiving at Rome's Gemelli hospital, his doctors said.
Pope Francis had “a restful night and woke up shortly after 8 a.m.,” the Vatican said on Friday morning, March 7. It was his 22nd night in Rome’s Gemelli Hospital.
Just as Popes John Paul II’s and Benedict’s final days revealed their understandings of the papacy, Francis’ illness has revealed him once again as the world’s parish priest, suffering close to his people.
A reflection for the First Monday of Lent, by Ashley McKinless