The Burden of Blasphemy: Bishop John Joseph’s Martyrdom and the Endless Persecution of Pakistani Christians (Part 7)

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Part 6

2018: The Blasphemy Trap of the Cybercrime Act – From My Own Case to the Arrest of Qamar Akash in Sahiwal

In Pakistan’s 1973 Constitution, efforts were made to declare the country an Islamic Republic. Decades later, to expand on this, the Cybercrime Act (Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act) was introduced in 2016. This law included provisions related to blasphemy, under which an accused could face up to ten years in prison, a fine of up to ten million rupees, or both. Yet even this did not satisfy some Muslims, so they began combining Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) with the Cybercrime Law, which allows a Sessions Court to issue the death penalty.

The first case under the Cybercrime Act was filed against me, the second against a young Christian named Nadeem Samson, and the third in 2018 against a progressive activist and researcher from Sahiwal, Qamar Akash. At the time, the law itself was controversial, as it was widely criticized for curbing freedom of expression and being riddled with flaws.

Qamar Akash, a young man from Sahiwal, Punjab, was deeply engaged in research on religions and philosophy. Within his circle, he encouraged people to think logically, and often described Islamic teachings as irrational, unhelpful, and sometimes harmful. His progressive views and growing influence among youth alarmed Muslim hardliners, local clerics, and jihadist groups. In one of their meetings, they decided that the best strategy would be to launch legal action against him.

On the evening of November 21, 2017, a group of clerics gathered and reported to the police that Akash had committed blasphemy. They threatened that if immediate action was not taken, people would set a shop on fire. The police quickly arrested Akash and moved him to an undisclosed location. The very next day, a case was registered against him at Ghala Mandi Police Station.

I became aware of this incident when the police handed the case over to the FIA, and it became the third case under the Cybercrime Law. I immediately used my platforms to strongly condemn Akash’s unlawful arrest, inhumane detention, and the silencing of free expression, demanding his immediate release.

In response, religious and jihadist leaders escalated their actions against me. They displayed my pictures outside the same courthouse where Bishop John Joseph had laid down his life and sent me threatening messages, warning that I would be killed in front of that very courthouse just as he was, outside the Sahiwal court where Bishop John Joseph shot himself.

After four and a half years, in 2022, the Supreme Court granted Akash bail. Upon his release, he turned to the media and checked the Facebook accounts of the complainants. There he discovered that newspapers had published joint condemnations against both of us. They claimed that Akash’s bail was a defeat for the law and a sign of leniency toward “blasphemers.” They also demanded my immediate arrest and that Akash’s name be placed on the Exit Control List (ECL).

Hearing my name in the news shocked Akash. He began searching for me, watched my YouTube videos, and asked the Christian community about me, but he could not find a way to contact me. Two years later, one day, he left a comment on one of my YouTube videos, saying that he too had suffered the same kind of persecution in Pakistan. I immediately reached out to him on WhatsApp, asked about his situation, and offered him comfort.

Just as the bishop once carried the heavy burden of the draconian blasphemy laws, I, too, live under the same pain today. I am deeply troubled by the rapid rise of Sharia adherence, jihad, and terrorism in Pakistan. These forces have paved the way for discriminatory religious legislation, with the blasphemy laws standing as the most dangerous example. Their passage shows not only the hand of jihadists, but also the full involvement of Parliament and the government. These laws have become a weapon of persecution against weaker religious communities and have poisoned Christian-Muslim relations across the country.

Bishop John Joseph targeted especially the draconian blasphemy laws, because he honestly and rightly believed that the repeal of these laws, on one hand, would heal the wounds of the persecuted Christians and improve Christian-Muslim relations, and on the other hand, was needed for the solidarity of the nation. He loved this cause so much that he laid down his life to redeem the people from these persecutory laws.