51 year old Pastor given life imprisonment for alleged blasphemous text message

A Christian man of 51 years has been sentenced to life imprisonment for allegedly sending out blasphemous texts in Pakistan.

Christian NGO’s up and down the country are galled by the decision to prosecute Mr Zafar Bhatti under section 295c of Pakistan’s Penal Code, a decision they say is due to an Islamic bias that has consumed the nation.

Image of Zafar Bhatti

Campaigners say there is no solid evidence that allows for the Lahore High Court’s determination on 3rd May 2017. Mr Bhatti who was a Christian pastor until his arrest was accused of sending blasphemous text messages from his phone, yet several reports prove that the SIM was not registered to Mr Bhatti and was registered to a completely different Computerised National Identity card holder (CNIC).

Mr Zafar Bhatti was a co-accused defendant under blasphemy charges with Ghazala Khan whose CNIC card was registered against the phone SIM card.  Ghazala who was arrested on 11th November 2012 was shown some leniency as she was a woman and was fairly immediately granted bail for her charges.

In an extremely bizarre trial Justice Khalid Mehmood of the Lahore High Court refused to pass judgement against Ghazala on April 8th 2013, he tried to convince the petitioner Ibrar Ahmed, Secretary for Ahle Sunnat Pakistan to forgive Ghazala, stating that Muhammed forgave many people.  Pakistani media groups labelled his compassion as a delay tactic (click here).  At the time Ghazala asked for a the court to make a just decision of the crime and to exonerate her.  However Ghazala insisted did not want to be forgiven by the petitioner as she felt that escape from her blasphemy charges in this manner would indicate original guilt.  She remonstrated that as she was innocent of a crime she should be freed by the court on merit.

Ghazala Khan (39 yrs) passed away in November 2016 after losing a battle with Hepatitis C, thus surviving the ignominy of being sentenced for blasphemy charges.

Due to the security reasons Mr Bhattis case proceedings were conducted on the premises of Central Jail Adiala, Rawalpindi, where Zafar Bhatti has been imprisoned since July 2012.  Mr Bhatti has faced several attempts on his life at the prison including an incident of  poisoning on March 31st 2103, which left him bleeding from his nose and mouth and left him in critical condition for days.

On 25th September 2014 Mr Bhatti narrowly escaped assassination after a rogue prison officer shot  a 71 year old British Muslim Muhammed Asghar in a cell adjacent to Mr Bhatti’s. Mr Asghar was taken to a private hospital and later fully recovered from critical condition in a private hospital despite being shot in the chest. (click here)

Jail guard Muhammad Yousaf wanted to kill all inmates accused of blasphemy against Islam, but was knocked to the ground and captured after other prison guards intervened on hearing the shooting.  He was inspired to kill blasphemers after being encouraged by Mumtaz Qadri who was also being held at Adiala Prison for his role in assassinating Muslim Governor of Punjab Salman Taseer, who called for abrogation of the draconian blasphemy laws of Pakistan.  Muhammed Yousaf was from the same Barelvi cult as Mumtaz Qadri within the Hanafi School of Islamic Jurisprudence.  He was able to enter the prison with a gun concealed in his shoe as only a light frisk was taken on prison staff at the time.  Since the attack prison security measures are said to have tightened up.  During interrogation Mr Yousaf claimed a divine presence entered his dreams at night telling him he must kill all blasphemers.

Shamim Masih, BPCA reporter said:

“The blasphemy law is continuously misused to settle personal scores but also by Islamic zealots intent on annihilating Christians from Pakistan who now make up 15% of all allegations, a percentage that is increasing.

“When people lay false charges against Christians who are later exonerated no action is taken by the government of Pakistan to intervene on behalf of the victims by prosecuting those who laid false allegations. This impunity has exacerbated the situation.”

On Saturday 6th May, Shamim Masih met the wife of Zafar Bhatti, Nawab Bibi (65 years) and took her out for a meal to discuss the blasphemy victims case.  Mrs Bhatti explained about the daily torture he faces in prison, she said:

“There have been numerous attempts to kill my husband – he is bullied everyday and he is not safe from inmates and prison staff alike. Every day I worry that I will receive word that he is dead, this worry is making me very age quickly.

“I pray for him every day and when we meet we cry together and pray seeking God’s intervention.  I know God will free him one day but ask for Christians across the world to pray for him and to challenge their governments to help him.

“My husband was a good man he was a committed Christian and a Pastor to many.  Many Muslim people hated how quickly his church was growing they have taken this action to undermine his work. Yet despite their actions the church grows.

“I wish our persecutors would see that Christians are not evil creatures. We are human beings created by God the same God that created them although they do not know this yet.”

Wilson Chowdhry Chairman of the British Pakistani Christian Association, said:

“Zafar Bhatti has now been incarcerated for nearly five years for a crime he ostensibly did not commit. He is being convicted for a text message on a phone that was not his in a crime that for all intents and purposes was fabricated to remove him from his role as a Pastor.

“That unjust draconian laws can be used in this fashion to wreak havoc on the lives of Christians and other minorities in Pakistan is a disgrace for the nation of Pakistan.

“When even judges ‘wash their hands’ of the law as was enacted in the case of Ghazala Khan a co-defendant in this awful trial, it clearly expresses the dubious nature on these man-made laws that have no place in protecting a divine faith.

Mrs Nawab Bibi is seeking help towards her daily living costs.  Since the arrest of her husband who was the main bread winner Mrs Bibi has struggled to make ends meet and has been forced to have her children live with her grandparents as she cannot afford to keep them. Nawab Bibi is required to remain at a home near her husband so she can continue to meet him and challenge for his freedom.  Her eldest daughters were placed into arranged marriages at very young ages to relive the family of their expenses.  She is surviving on very meagre handouts and BPCA would like to commit £150 per month to help Mrs Bibi, while she continues the battle to free her husband.  The money will be used to help her with rent, travel to courts and to meet her children and to support the education of her younger children.  If you would like to donate please (click here)