Catholics Lead Drive In Pakistan To Repeal Blasphemy Law

In Pakistan, Archbishop Lawrence Saldanha, president of Pakistan's Catholic Bishops Conference, is leading a movement to repeal a portion of Pakistan's blasphemy law, according to America: The Catholic Weekly Magazine. The drive is aimed at two parts of Penal Code Ordinance 295. Section 295-B mandates life imprisonment for desecration of the Koran. Section 295-C calls for thee death penalty for anyone who defames or insults the Prophet Muhammad. The Bishop's National Commission for Justice and Peace says that in more than 100 recent blasphemy cases in which defendants were acquitted, the accusers were shown by the court to have been motivated by personal grudges or hope of financial gain. Even though Muslims make up 97 per cent of Pakistan's population, they widely see themselves as threatened by India's Hinduism, and Ordinance 295 is a popular reaction to this threat.