Please read Pakistan, Blasphemy Laws, and the Death Penalty, by Ruth Kramer, at Mission Network News.
"After 23 years, Pakistan’s Sharia Court (FSC) decided to take a hard line on the blasphemy law. A decision earlier this month took life-imprisonment off the table and left only the death penalty. These laws have been under debate for years, but spokesman for The Voice of the Martyrs USA Todd Nettleton says don’t expect this change to be undone any time soon. “There is a strong base of radical Islamic support of the laws, so even the government authorities who have talked on repealing the law or they’ve talked about modifying the law has always been met with a very stiff wall of opposition from those radical Muslims within the country.”
"The laws are widely criticized for loose interpretation and the rampant abuse, Nettleton adds. “I think everyone acknowledges that they are misused. They are used as a weapon to settle disputes, not only to attack Christians but to attack Muslims, to attack Hindus, to attack people of other faiths.” "
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