blasphemy | Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF)

Pakistan Press Foundation

Freedom of speech and blasphemy

Pakistan Press Foundation

Foe few weeks a serious issue, ‘blasphemy’, was the talk of the town. Pakistan had apparently succeeded in stopping the contest of Blasphemous Caricature which was to be held in Holland organised by Geert Wilders. Blasphemy law is a law limiting the freedom of speech and expression relating to blasphemy, or irreverence toward holy personages, religious […]


EU praises Pakistan’s progress, urges country to do more for human rights, justice

Pakistan Press Foundation

ISLAMABAD: The European Union (EU) has said that Pakistan’s fight against terrorism has created new human rights challenges that need to be addressed urgently. In the first compliance report of the GSP Plus status for Pakistan, the EU has said that respecting, protecting and promoting human rights can be an effective tool amid efforts to […]


‘Blasphemy accusations increased after current law introduced’

Pakistan Press Foundation

ISLAMABAD: A study on ‘Blasphemy in the Digital Age’ has revealed that blasphemy accusations increased by almost 200 times after Gen Ziaul Haq amended the blasphemy law. Presented by the Digital Rights Foundation (DRF) on Friday, the study drew comparisons between the period before and after the current blasphemy law was introduced in 1987. Prior […]


Net freedom report notes rise in online blasphemy allegations

Pakistan Press Foundation

ISLAMABAD: Allegations of blasphemy related to online content have registered an increase in Pakistan, according to the recently-released ‘Freedom on the Net 2015’ report. Compiled by Freedom House – a US government-funded organisation that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom, and human rights issues – the report once again awarded Pakistan a ‘Not […]


Religious intolerance

Pakistan Press Foundation

IT doesn’t necessarily take devastating, large-scale attacks to underscore how extremism is tightening its grip over the country. While catastrophic terrorist strikes can unite a nation, such as after last year’s attack on Peshawar’s All Saints Church or the bombings against the Hazara in Quetta, it is also true that the steady drip, drip of […]


IHC admits petition against channel for blasphemy

Pakistan Press Foundation

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Muhammad Anwar Khan Kasi on Tuesday admitted a petition for regular hearing which alleged blasphemy of Ahle Bait (RA) was committed by ARY television channel in its morning show on May 16. Justice Kasi at initial hearing of the case issued notice to the station house officer (SHO) […]


Media Infighting

Pakistan Press Foundation

Sir: Now the religious parties have orchestrated a campaign against a local television network. A number of blasphemy cases have been registered, in different parts of the country against the owner, the anchorperson and a number of other people associated with the morning programme that has allegedly run the blasphemy content. Forgotten, in the midst […]


Right to information: YouTube ban equated with stopping blasphemy

Pakistan Press Foundation

LAHORE: A group of lawyers favouring the ban on YouTube staged protested demonstration outside the Lahore High Court against “blasphemy or any steps taken to defend blasphemers.” Bytes for All, the petitioner, is seeking withdrawal of the ban on the popular video sharing website. Its counsel Yasser Latif Hamdani and four officials appeared at the […]


Well, at least we’ve banned YouTube

Pakistan Press Foundation

I had been considering writing on this topic for a while, but I foolishly believed it to be ‘trivial’ or ‘unimportant’, or even ‘so incredibly stupid that my brain hurt to dwell on it for more than a moment’. But our elected leadership and our guardians of justice have managed to open my stubborn eyes. […]


Limiting information

Pakistan Press Foundation

IT is a testament to the rapid progress of information technology that lectures and courses by well-known educational institutes, analyses of political and social discourse, and historical accounts of relatively unknown events can be accessed through video-sharing websites such as YouTube. However, in Pakistan, because of certain sacrilegious videos purportedly threatening public order, a whole […]


Censoring social media: Government caught between fans and foes

Pakistan Press Foundation

ISLAMABAD: When Max Kelly left his job of the chief security officer at the Facebook in 2010, he just disappeared from the screens of the virtual world – only to be discovered after Edward Snowden rocked the real world with his revelations that the US National Security Agency (NSA) had been snooping on the cyber […]


Simply censorship

Pakistan Press Foundation

The many freedoms the Pakistani press and media enjoy today are a result of years of vibrant activism and struggle by journalists and civil society. The state (and all its various manifestations) unable to have direct control (of privately owned media) because of decent media laws, now employs subversive tactics to keep things under control. […]


Blasphemy and reactionary pogroms

By: Lal Khan Although the Islamic parties have been politically weak with a limited social base, their hold on society is aided by their links to the different institutions of the state The burning down of 178 houses on the night of March 8 and 9 in Joseph Colony, a Christian neighbourhood near Badami Bagh […]


Badami Bagh tragedy: HRCP finds police, admin responsible

LAHORE: In its preliminary report after a fact-finding mission to the Joseph Colony in Badami Bagh, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has held the police and the provincial administration squarely responsible for the attack on Christian homes earlier this week. The mission’s purpose was to “present facts — regarding the incident of violence […]