By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
LAHORE, PAKISTAN (Worthy News) - A Christian couple remains in jail in Pakistan’s Punjab province as a judge decided to keep them behind bars for allegedly desecrating the Koran, deemed a holy book by Muslims, sources told Worthy News.
Shaukat Masih, 33, and his wife Kiran, 28, were arrested in the provincial capital, Lahore, around September 8, according to the Center for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS).
On Tuesday, September 19, they appeared in court, where Additional Session Judge Mian Shahid Javaid ordered their return to prison under controversial blasphemy legislation, said Nasir Saeed, director of CLAAS-UK.
“The case has been scheduled for further proceedings on October 5, 2023. Kiran is detained in Central Jail, Kot Lakhpat, Lahore, while her husband, Shaukat Masih, is held in Camp Jail, Lahore,” Saeed told Worthy News.
The couple was charged with “blasphemy” against Islam under Section 295-B of the blasphemy law, “which carries severe penalties, including the possibility of a life imprisonment sentence,” he explained.
“This section applies to those who deliberately defile, damage, desecrate, or misuse a copy” of the Koran or its extracts in “a derogatory or unlawful manner,” Saeed added.
Their troubles began when their employer’s sister “gave Kiran,” a domestic worker, “some waste papers to sell,” which, unbeknownst to her, contained pages from the Koran, explained Saeed. On September 7, Muhammad Taimoor, the complainant, visited their home, discovered the pages, and subsequently reported the alleged blasphemy to the police, according to sources familiar with the case.
RELIGIOUS CLERICS
“Following the incident, religious clerics used mosque announcements to incite protests among various religious groups. On September 9, enraged demonstrators gathered, demanding the couple's execution,” Saeed recalled. “They erroneously believed that blasphemy warranted a death penalty, despite the law stipulating life imprisonment for desecrating the Koran.” Other blasphemy charges against Islam could carry the death penalty, Worthy News established.
Saeed said the situation “escalated to the point where an attempted arson attack was made on a Catholic church. Fortunately, swift intervention by law enforcement prevented further escalation.”
However, Shaukat Masih, who works as a watchman, and his wife are “both illiterate,” noted Saeed, suggesting they could not have deliberately damaged the Koran. They “share the responsibility of caring for their three children: Sabir, 12, Sundas, 6, and Rubi, who is 5-years-old,” he said.
They previously resided in a rented house but relocated to their current residence, provided by Masih’s employer, some six months ago. “He had accepted a job as a watchman, which came with accommodation, from the Muslim employer while Kiran found employment as a domestic worker within the same house.”
It was unclear why the employer’s sister had given her pages of the Koran, but rights activists say Christians have often been singled out for trumped-up charges of blasphemy. Some Christians suggested that the landlord's sister wanted to prompt their departure o
and employed the blasphemy accusation as a pretext.
Some reports suggest that the landlord's sister may have aimed to prompt their departure using blasphemy as a pretext.
Saeed expressed concerns about the family’s future. “Their children are hiding, seeking refuge with close family relatives.” The problems of the impoverished couple are compounded by their elder son, Sabir, who has a physical disability, and their two daughters, Sundas and Rubi, who have experienced mental disabilities since birth, Christians said.
PRAYERS REQUESTED
Saeed told Worthy News that CLAAS had requested “prayers for the safety of the children and parents while in prison and for a fair and just resolution to this case.”
It comes amid broader concerns about pressure on Christians, who comprise an estimated 1.8 percent of the population in Muslim-majority Pakistan.
Angry Muslims destroyed scores of Christian homes and churches, Worthy News reported earlier.
Pakistan ranks 7th on the World Watch List 2023 of 50 countries where advocacy group Open Doors says Christians face the most persecution for their faith in Christ.
In recent years, scores of people, many of them Christians, have been killed, including by furious mobs, for alleged blasphemy, several sources told Worthy News.
Additionally, blasphemy cases can last years, during which people remain incarcerated in notorious prisons, activists say.