by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – A second Christian charged with blasphemy in Pakistan was released on bail pending trial last week after a court found there was no direct evidence in the three cases brought against him, Christian Daily International (CDI) reports.
The father of a four-year-old daughter, Zimran Asim was released on October 29 after the Lahore High Court granted bail on September 24 in the third blasphemy case registered against him, his attorney Aneeqa Maria said in a statement. The high court had granted him bail in the other two cases on July 29 and April 24, CDI reports.
“Asim was implicated only because he was seen once with the primary accused, Akash Masih,” Maria said. “Zimran Asim’s case is a fitting example of how innocent people are implicated in false cases by individuals as well as the police. This poor man was forced to suffer in prison, away from his family for over one year. They also lost their home and can’t even think of going back to their village.”
“I believe the blatant misuse of the laws has made the situation equally dangerous for blasphemy accused, their defense counsels as well as rights defenders,” Maria added. “The government must take this issue seriously in order to protect innocent lives and break this environment of fear.”
Asim became the second Christian charged with blasphemy to be released on bail after a high court found there major defects in the case against Chand Shamaun, who was freed on October 23. Shamaun is accused of inciting religious tensions in Okara, Punjab Province, by threatening to desecrate the Quran, CDI reports.
Ruled by an Islamic government which has approved harsh blasphemy laws, Pakistan ranks 7 on the Open Doors World Watch List 2024 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
President Donald Trump abruptly canceled planned U.S. strikes against Iran on Thursday, saying a multinational agreement to end the conflict had been approved by top Iranian leadership and was awaiting final documents and a formal signing.
Federal authorities said Thursday they have accounted for 146,000 unaccompanied migrant children who entered the United States during former President Joe Biden’s administration, while roughly 300,000 minors remain unaccounted for, amid allegations that many vulnerable children were placed with fraudulent sponsors and exposed to abuse, labor exploitation, and sex trafficking.
Congress left Washington without renewing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, allowing a key foreign surveillance authority used to track foreign terrorists and national security threats to expire Friday.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on June 11 temporarily allowed President Donald Trump’s 10 percent global tariffs to remain in effect, extending a pause on a lower court ruling that had struck down the duties as unlawful.
Dutch police detained a young man l man after four people, including three children, were killed when a car struck a group of cyclists during a school outing near the Belgian border on Thursday, officials said.
The leaders of Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia are expected to meet this month amid growing debate within the European Union over how future member states should be admitted and monitored.
China has condemned the European Union’s ban on public funding for Chinese-made solar inverters, a move that analysts say could affect more than a fifth of new solar capacity and complicate efforts to meet the bloc’s self-imposed “climate targets.”