Sahil Shahid and Raheel Shahid (center) after release with defense team on Jan. 25, 2025. (Christian Daily International-Morning Star News)
LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – A court in Pakistan on Saturday (Jan. 25) acquitted Christian twin brothers of a false blasphemy accusation as the prosecution failed to prove charges against them, their attorney said.
Kasur Additional Sessions Judge Farzana Shahzad ordered that 18-year-olds Sahil Shahid (known as Kalu) and Raheel Shahid (known as Tabish), be released from prison after their defense team proved they had been falsely charged and that police had failed to properly investigate, said attorney Javed Sahotra.
During cross-examination of eight witnesses, including the investigating officer and the complainant, Sahotra asked if any of them could identify which quranic passage or verses had allegedly been desecrated by the brothers of Qulay Wala village in Kasur District, Punjab Province.
“Neither the IO nor any other witness was able to respond to my question, which shows that the evidence that they had submitted against the brothers had been fabricated,” Sahotra told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. “Admitting my arguments, the honorable judge ordered the release of the twins and issued a notice to the Kasur district police officer to start an inquiry against the IO for conducting a weak investigation.”
Sahotra said he argued that Inspector Muhammad Saleem of Kasur Saddar Police Station was not qualified to investigate the case.
“Though Saleem is serving as an inspector, he has only obtained higher secondary education and is unable to read or understand the Arabic language,” he said.
The twins have been released from prison and have reunited with their family, he added.
The defense team also informed the court that the brothers had been falsely charged with the aim of instilling fear in Christians and forcing them to leave the village.
“We believe that this case was a conspiracy against the Christian residents so that vested interests could grab their land and properties,” Sahotra said. “However, timely intervention of the police and our successful defense of the victims scuttled their nefarious designs.”
The Shahid brothers were arrested and charged with blasphemy on Aug. 27 after they were accused of tearing pages of the Quran. Desecrating the Quran carries a life sentence in Muslim-majority Pakistan, but intent must be proven for a conviction.
The complainant, Ghulam Mustafa, alleged in the First Information Report (FIR) that on Aug. 26 the brothers had desecrated quranic pages at a local village fair.
The brothers are illiterate and belong to a poor family, rights activist Sajid Christopher previously told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News, adding that family members surrendered them to police after officials took their mother and an uncle into custody.
Blasphemy Law Amendments Urged
Expressing alarm over an increase in false blasphemy accusations in Pakistan, the U.N. Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) on Nov. 7 urged repeal or amending of the country’s widely condemned blasphemy laws.
The committee noted that false blasphemy accusations led to Islamist mob violence and recommended amending the laws in accordance with requirements of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). In its concluding observations of the committee’s second periodic report on Pakistan, it stated concern over sections 295 and 298 of the Pakistan Penal Code, which carry severe penalties, including the death penalty, and have a disproportionate impact on religious minorities.
“It is also concerned about the increasing number of persons incarcerated under blasphemy charges, the high number of blasphemy cases based on false accusations, violence against those accused of blasphemy, fostering vigilante justice, and allegations of entrapment of persons, in particular young persons, on accusations of on-line blasphemy under cybercrime laws,” the committee stated.
It emphasized ending use of cybercrime laws, such as the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016, to prosecute and detain those accused of breaching blasphemy laws online. The committee also urged the government to investigate allegations of massive abuse of blasphemy laws in connection with cybercrime laws and publish the results of the inquiries.
“[The committee] is also concerned about the chilling effect that criminal defamation laws, blasphemy, sedition and counter-terrorism laws, and other recently passed legislation have on the exercise of freedom of expression by journalists, activists, human rights defenders and members of ethnic and religious minorities,” it stated.
Urging Pakistan to take all necessary measures to guarantee prompt and fair trials for all persons charged with blasphemy or other offenses against religion, the committee highlighted jail conditions, stating that it was “also concerned about reports of abuse of women prisoners, including sexual violence, and that individuals accused of blasphemy are often placed in solitary confinement for extended periods of time. It remains concerned about the widespread recourse to prolonged pretrial detention.”
Pakistan ranked eighth on Open Doors’ 2025 World Watch List of the most difficult places to be a Christian.
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