By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
FAISALABAD, PAKISTAN (Worthy News) – A Christian man sentenced to death for blasphemy against Islam in the eastern Pakistani town of Jaranwala will appeal the verdict, Worthy News learned Easter Monday.
The 36-year Pervaiz, also known as Kodu Masih, was convicted on Good Friday, April 18, after he allegedly desecrated the Koran, deemed a holy book by Muslims, said Tahir Bashir, a Christian lawyer involved in the case.
“I did his case in the Anti Terrorism Court (ATC) in the city of Faisalabad [which sentenced him to death],” Bashir told Worthy News. “I have filed an appeal in the High Court against the verdict of ATC Faisalabad,” he added.
“This verdict is yet another chapter in the ongoing persecution faced by the followers of Jesus Christ,” in Pakistan, a mainly Muslim nation, Bashir stressed.
He also received a fine of roughly $12,500 in local currency, sources said.
The ATC acquitted the other two accused, Daud William Masih and Shahid Aftab, also known as Boby Masih, giving them “the benefit of the doubt,” Christian trial observers noted. “The Christian community is going through a difficult time,” explained lawyer Bashir, who recently survived an assassination attempt
“Yet, I find solace in the thought that just as the heavy stone was rolled away from the tomb of Jesus Christ, so too will the heavy stones of injustice and persecution be lifted from the lives of people like Pervaiz,” he stressed.
ATTACKING CHRISTIANS
The claims of blasphemy, which the convicted Christian man denies, fueled attacks on a Christian neighborhood of Jaranwala in 2023 in which numerous houses and churches were torched and thousands of people forced to flee their homes.
Pakistan ranks 8th on the annual World Watch List of 50 nations, where advocacy group Open Doors says Christians face the most persecution for their faith in Christ.
Blasphemy against Islam is punishable by death in Pakistan, and several people, including Christians, have been languishing for years on death row.
While no one has been executed yet by the state, several suspects have been lynched to death by outraged mobs, often before they could face a court.
In the southern city of Karachi on Friday, a mob of hundreds of people beat an Ahmadi owner of a car workshop to death with bricks and sticks, Worthy News reported earlier. The victim, Laeeq Cheema, 46, was reportedly filming supporters of the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) party “when the mob started beating him and killed him,” police announced.
TLP is known as a far-right Islamist political party known for its violent protests against any changes to the blasphemy law in Pakistan or those deemed dangerous to its teachings, including even some Muslims.
Ahmadis are a minority group that has faced attacks in Pakistan on accusations of being heretical and involved in blasphemy by hardline Muslims.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
The United States is withdrawing all of its roughly 1,000 troops from Syria, ending a decade-long military campaign against the Islamic State, according to a Wall Street Journal exclusive citing American officials.
The Justice Department has issued a fresh round of subpoenas in a Florida-based investigation examining the origins and conduct of the federal government’s 2016 Russia inquiry — a probe that shadowed President Donald Trump for years and fueled deep divisions across the nation.
The White House is heralding a better-than-expected jobs report as one of the first signs of what it says will be a “record successful year” in 2026, after a year of stalled jobs growth.
As Ramadan, deemed a holy month by Muslims, began Wednesday, advocates warned that Christians and other religious minorities in parts of South Asia face potentially deadly consequences from blasphemy accusations amplified by social media and mob violence.
Satellite imagery reviewed by analysts indicates Iran has advanced fortification work at several sensitive military and nuclear-linked sites, including the Parchin military complex and the Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center, according to a Reuters report. The developments come as Washington seeks a negotiated nuclear agreement with Tehran while warning that military options remain on the table if diplomacy fails.
A military confrontation between the United States and Iran could erupt within days and develop into a sustained, multi-week campaign, according to multiple sources cited Wednesday, even as diplomatic talks continue between Washington and Tehran.
Israel is expected to begin operational deployment of the Arrow 4 missile defense system in the coming months, marking a significant upgrade to the nation’s multi-layered air defense network, according to Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) President and CEO Boaz Levy.