Pakistani court acquits blind Christian in blasphemy case

Rules capital charges leveled against the disabled Catholic man were fabricated

A Pakistani court has acquitted a blind Catholic man of blasphemy charges, ruling that the case against him was fabricated.

The Additional Session Judge Court in Lahore, capital of Punjab province, cleared Nadeem Masih, 51, on June 22 and ordered his immediate release from detention.

Judge Saad Salman Khan delivered the verdict in a case that carried the death penalty under Pakistan’s Penal Code.

According to Masih’s defense team led by lawyer Lazar Allah Rakha, the accusations stemmed from a dispute over a small business operating at Nawaz Sharif Park in Lahore.

He said Masih, who is blind from birth, was accused of blasphemy by two Muslim men, Waqas Mazhar and Asif Mukhtar on Aug. 21 last year after they attempted to take over Masih's business.

Rakha alleged the two men, park contractors, had repeatedly pressured Masih to abandon his weighing-scale business and that the blasphemy allegation was made after he refused to comply.

While this swift judicial relief is an encouragement, the dangerous reality is that the stigma of a blasphemy accusation is a life sentence in itself.

He also accused them of harassing Masih because of his disability and of failing to repay personal loans he had extended to them.

His family welcomed the acquittal in emotional scenes inside the courtroom.

“God has heard the prayers of a desperate mother and delivered my son from the shadow of death,” his mother said. “Nadeem is innocent, and knowing he will finally be back home is an answer to our prayers.”

Rakha said the verdict brought rare swift relief in a country where blasphemy cases often take years to conclude.

Father Khalid Rasheed Asi, director of the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace in Lahore Archdiocese, said the acquittal did not erase the long-term consequences of the accusation.

“While this swift judicial relief is an encouragement, the dangerous reality is that the stigma of a blasphemy accusation is a life sentence in itself,” he said.

Advocate Riaz Anjum, president of the Christian Lawyers Association Pakistan, criticized the police investigation, saying authorities failed to apply proper scrutiny in a case with severe consequences.

“When an allegation is this serious and potentially life-taking, it demands the highest level of scrutiny,” he said. “Instead, the police displayed a completely non-serious attitude during the investigation.”

"This is fundamentally a matter of human life, and authorities must learn to look at these cases objectively and completely beyond a religious lens."

Pakistan’s blasphemy laws impose severe penalties, including the death sentence, for insulting Islam or the Prophet Muhammad.

Human rights organizations say the laws are frequently misused to target religious minorities, including Christians, as well as members of Muslim sects such as Shiites and Ahmadis.

Although courts have sentenced dozens of people to death or life imprisonment for blasphemy over past decades, no executions have been carried out.

However, accusations often trigger mob violence, leading to attacks on churches, Christian homes, shops, and other property, sometimes resulting in deaths.

According to Pakistan’s National Commission for Human Rights, 767 people were in custody awaiting trial for alleged blasphemy as of 2025.

Source: ucanews.com, Yousaf Benjamin, June 23, 2026

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but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."
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