Lahore, Nov 2 (PTI) A 49-year-old visually impaired Christian man has been arrested for blasphemy charges in the Punjab province of Pakistan, police said on Sunday. Nadeem Masih is accused of insulting Prophet Muhammad, a charge that, if proved, carries the death penalty. “Masih was arrested recently at Model Town Park, Lahore. Police were informed by a parking contractor that Masih insulted the Prophet,” police officer Muhammad Yaqoob said. Masih has been booked under Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code.
His counsel Advocate Javed Sahotra said there are major discrepancies in the First Information Report (FIR) that would be challenged in court, and hopefully Masih would get bail.
Talking to Christian Daily International-Morning Star News, Sahotra said if the trial court does not grant bail to Masih, he will move the Lahore High Court, which, he said, will surely take these facts into consideration.
Sahotra claimed Masih, who has an iron rod in his right leg, was tortured by police in custody.
Masih’s mother said her son was often harassed by a parking contractor and his accomplices, who, she said, had a money dispute with Masih, which led to the blasphemy allegation against him. She pleaded for her son’s release, saying she had already lost one son some years ago, leaving only Masih and her three daughters to provide for the family.
Pakistan’s blasphemy laws have been mostly misused to target religious minorities and settle personal and economic disputes.
(Disclaimer: This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)
