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
The U.S. unemployment rate unexpectedly dipped to 4.2 percent in June, even as hiring slowed sharply and employers added far fewer jobs than economists had forecast, according to new Labor Department data released Thursday.
Despite the looming 2026 midterm elections and the growing list of congressional responsibilities, a persistent group of Republicans are vowing to obstruct all U.S. House business until leadership effectively forces the Senate to take up a voter ID bill.
Iran’s military command warned the United States and Israel on Thursday against launching any new attack as the Islamic Republic prepares a massive state funeral for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in Israeli airstrikes on February 28 at the opening of the war.
The Ukrainian Red Cross said Thursday that one of its main humanitarian warehouses was destroyed in a large-scale Russian attack on Kyiv that killed at least 27 people and injured more than 90 others in the deadliest strike on the Ukrainian capital this year.
The Dutch centrist government came under mounting pressure Thursday after another municipality announced it would refuse to accommodate asylum seekers despite national legislation requiring local authorities to help shelter people fleeing war, persecution, and poverty.
The French government faced mounting political pressure Thursday after nearly 3,000 people were evacuated from wildfires in southern France, prompting Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu to warn that this year’s fire season had begun weeks earlier than usual following a record-breaking heatwave blamed for killing thousands of people in France and neighboring Spain.
Turkey has condemned Israel for recognizing the Armenian Genocide, the systematic killing of some 1.5 million Armenian Christians by the Ottoman Empire during World War I, ahead of hosting next week’s NATO summit.