By IANS
Lahore : Apprehending the worst, Younis Masih, a Pakistani Christian accused of insulting Islam, wept with Walter Fazal Khan, a fellow-Christian and prisoner, as the two prayed in a lock-up in a jail here.
Their fears came true. A day after Khan was released on bail, a court in Lahore Thursday sentenced Masih to death under the blasphemy law.
According to Masih's lawyer, members of the Christian community had arranged a qawwali evening on Sep 9, 2005, at which neighbour Abdul Aziz, a complainant in the case, objected and demanded they perform Islamic rituals instead of Christian rites.
The argument turned heated during which Aziz alleged that the accused had used derogatory remarks. Police registered a blasphemy case against Masih the next day.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has said it would take up the case and help Masih's counsel to appeal to the high court.
HRCP Punjab chapter chairperson Hina Jillani termed the decision "disappointing".
She told the Daily Times that the commission believed that lower courts should not be allowed to decide blasphemy cases because "they could succumb to pressure from extremists and might not be able to decide such cases purely on merit".
She said, "The HRCP is against the controversial and discriminatory Law of Blasphemy and has been demanding that the government repeal it."
The blasphemy law is used against all non-Muslims. But Christians, Pakistan's largest religious minority of about 1.5 per cent of the 145 million population, say they are systematically targeted by neighbours and detractors to settle neighbourhood scores and property disputes.