Zafar Bhatti with spouse Nawab Bibi after his launch from jail. (British Asian Christian Affiliation)
LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Every day Worldwide–Morning Star Information) – A pastor acquitted of a false blasphemy cost after 13 years of languishing in jail tragically died two days after his launch, a rights group stated.
Pastor Zafar Bhatti, 62-year-old founding father of the Jesus World Mission Church ministry, died of cardiac arrest on Sunday (Oct. 5) at his residence in Rawalpindi, Punjab Province, rights group British Asian Christian Affiliation (BACA) introduced. BACA had organized authorized illustration for the pastor and in addition supported his 76-year-old ailing spouse, Nawab Bibi. He had no kids.
Bhatti was launched from the Adiala District Jail on Wednesday after the Rawalpindi Bench of the Lahore Excessive Courtroom overturned his blasphemy conviction by a periods court docket on Oct. 2. He was arrested in July 2012 after an Islamist cleric accused him of sending textual content messages disrespectful of Islam’s prophet, Muhammad.
He was charged underneath Part 295-C of Pakistan’s harsh blasphemy legal guidelines, which prescribe a compulsory demise sentence for insulting Muhammad. A trial court docket on Could 3, 2017, sentenced him to life imprisonment, however in 2022 his sentence was escalated to the demise penalty.
“Although his earthly journey has ended, Zafar’s religion, endurance, and supreme vindication stay a robust testomony to hope in Christ amidst persecution,” BACA stated in an announcement, including that it had organized for his burial in Pakistan’s southern port metropolis of Karachi, fulfilling his final want.
The group acknowledged that Bhatti’s coronary heart situation had been a severe concern for a number of years, with underlying points akin to diabetes taking a heavy toll.
“In 2019, medical assessments indicated he was at vital threat of one other coronary heart assault, having already skilled two minor episodes,” BACA acknowledged. “He reportedly suffered one other assault in 2020. In 2022, Zafar skilled extreme problems, together with vomiting blood after receiving treatment from the jail medical group, prompting our authorized group to enchantment for his launch on medical grounds.”
By early 2025, jail medical employees reportedly famous that his coronary heart perform had deteriorated dramatically – to about 15 % – with very restricted therapy choices obtainable, the group acknowledged.
Blasphemy stays a capital offense in Pakistan, punishable by demise. Though the state has not executed anybody underneath the regulation, mere accusations have triggered mob violence leading to dozens of deaths over the previous decade. The accused usually endure lengthy pretrial detentions, unfair trials and fixed risk of extrajudicial killing.
A complete of 17 Christians, together with six girls, have been accused underneath blasphemy legal guidelines in 2024, all from Punjab, in keeping with a 2024 report by the Nationwide Fee for Justice and Peace (NCJP). The identical report recorded 23 Muslim victims.
The Human Rights Fee of Pakistan (HRCP), in its 2024-2025 report, famous that these accused of blasphemy face specific hazard and are sometimes stored in isolation to guard them from assaults by different inmates.
Human Rights Watch acknowledged in a June 9 report that Pakistan’s blasphemy legal guidelines have been being systematically misused to focus on spiritual minorities, dispossess the poor and settle private and financial disputes.
“Blasphemy accusations are more and more weaponized to incite mob violence, displace weak communities and seize their property with impunity,” states the 29-page report, “A Conspiracy to Seize the Land: Exploiting Pakistan’s Blasphemy Legal guidelines for Blackmail and Revenue.”
In a number of instances, blasphemy accusations have been used to focus on enterprise rivals or coerce property transfers, in keeping with the report. It added that the regulation’s broad and imprecise provisions permit it to be exploited with minimal or no proof, making a local weather of concern amongst weak teams.
HRW criticized Pakistan’s prison justice system for enabling these abuses. Authorities hardly ever maintain perpetrators of mob violence accountable, whereas police usually fail to guard the accused or examine allegations, it acknowledged. In some situations, officers who intervene face threats themselves. Political and non secular actors accused of inciting violence continuously escape arrest or are acquitted attributable to lack of political will or intimidation.
“Failure to prosecute these answerable for incitement and assaults previously has emboldened those that use these legal guidelines to extort and blackmail within the title of faith,” stated Patricia Gossman, HRW’s affiliate Asia director.
The Pakistani authorities ought to urgently reform its blasphemy legal guidelines to stop them from being weaponized, she emphasised.
Pakistan ranked eighth on Open Doorways’ 2025 World Watch Checklist of essentially the most troublesome locations to be a Christian.
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