A video assaulting 30-year-old Christian nurse at Sobhraj Maternity Hospital in Karachi was viral on social media recently. Tabitha Nazir Gill was accused of her blasphemy.
It is reported that Gill was dragged from the third to first floor of the hospital where visiting burqa-clad women also attacked her. Police registered a blasphemy case under Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code that mandates the death penalty for blasphemy.
Blasphemy is a highly sensitive issue in deeply conservative Pakistan where mere allegations have led to extrajudicial killings and mob violence.
According to the Centre for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS) UK, a Christian charity dedicated to helping persecuted Christians in Pakistan, nearly 60 people including nine Christians and 47 Muslims (40 from the Shia community) were charged with blasphemy last year.
According to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, at least 40 people have convicted of blasphemy in Pakistan are currently facing life sentences or the death penalty.
Human Rights Focus Pakistan (HRFP) tweeted: “HRCP condemns in no uncertain terms the sickening display of violence against a Christian nurse, Tabitha, accused of blasphemy at a hospital in Karachi.”
Christian groups condemned the incident and said that the assault on Tabitha reflected jealousy and ignorance on the part of the perpetrators.
The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) data released recently shows the abuse of blasphemy laws has increased exponentially in Pakistan. From 1987 to December 2020, at least 1855 persons have been alleged under the offences related to religion, mostly under sections 295 B, C to 298 C of the Pakistan Penal Code known as blasphemy laws.
