The Independent: When Shafiq Masih visits his relatives, he risks running into a mob. A Christian, convicted and acquitted under Pakistan’s notorious blasphemy laws after a dispute with a neighbour, Mr Masih lives in fear.
He fled his home in Faisalabad, where he said he was almost lynched by a crowd that was whipped into a murderous frenzy by a local imam. He now lives in Lahore with his wife and seven children in Youhanabad, an impoverished district that is home to many of the city’s Christians.
Blasphemy laws which can punish insulting Islam with death are now regarded as sacrosanct in Pakistan. They are, critics claim, a means to persecute minority faiths and settle petty grievances, over how much butter was sold at a shop or, as in Mr Masih’s case, an electricity bill.
“The people who knew me, they [often] come from Faisalabad to Lahore,” Mr Masih said. “They are drivers and labourers. They can be dangerous for me.”
Categories: Ahmadis And Pakistan, Anti Islam act by Muslims, Bigotry, Pakistan, The Muslim Times