An Analysis of Blasphemy Laws of Pakistan in the Context of International Human Rights Laws

Abstract

This article basically aims to examine the blasphemy laws in Pakistan in the context of International Human Right Laws. As Pakistan is a signatory of UN human right laws, it is import to analyze the status and practice of these laws under the global perspective. Interestingly Pakistan is a Muslim majority country and Islam is the state religion of it. It the second country after Iran where the capital punishment is allowed in blasphemy laws and due to the same reason mostly it is the target of western governments and NGOs who vehemently opposed these laws. Initially this study presents an overview of UN humanitarian laws and International Human Right laws; within the subsequent section the process and practices of blasphemy laws in Pakistan are revealed and finally the last section gives a comparison between Pakistani blasphemy laws with international human right laws. At some places the author has also clarified the stereotypical allegations against blasphemy laws. The results show that the West is no longer agreed to put the freedom of religion including defamation of religion and freedom of expression on equal footings.