Pakistan: Blind Christian man arrested on blasphemy charges; lawyers cite fabrication, police abuse

Islamabad [Pakistan], November 2 (ANI): A 49-year-old blind Christian man in Pakistan has been arrested on charges of blasphemy, a crime punishable by death, after being accused by a local Muslim of insulting Islam's prophet, sparking outrage among rights groups and the Christian community, as reported by Morning Star News.
The accused, Nadeem Masih, was detained in August after being allegedly framed by a group of men who had long harassed him, according to his mother, 80-year-old Martha Yousaf.
She said her son, who earned a modest living operating a weighing scale at Lahore's Model Town Park, was frequently bullied, extorted, and even assaulted by local workers, including the complainant, Waqas Mazhar, as reported by Morning Star News.
On August 21, when Masih protested against being barred from setting up his stall, Mazhar and another man allegedly dragged him to the Model Town Police Station and accused him of blasphemy.
Police later charged him under Section 295-C of Pakistan's penal code, which carries the death penalty, Morning Star News reported.
Yousaf said her blind son was tortured in custody and forced to confess to false allegations. "Every time I meet him, my heart bleeds and cries when he tells me how badly he is being treated, especially when he's taken for court appearances," she said, as quoted by Morning Star News.
"They push him around despite knowing that he is completely blind and also has an iron rod in his right leg," she added.
Masih's lawyer, Javed Sahotra, said major discrepancies in the police report point to foul play. The complaint claims officers were patrolling the park at 11 pm (local time) when they were alerted to the alleged crime, even though the park closes at 9 pm.
"However, the fact is that the park's gates close at 9 pm, and no one is allowed inside after that... Moreover, Masih had made a call on the police helpline at 6 am to inform them about his mistreatment by the parking contractor and others but received no help," Sahotra told Morning Star News.
The lawyer confirmed that Masih was tortured in custody, calling it "inhumane treatment" and urging authorities to take disciplinary action against the officers involved.
"It is very unfortunate that a blind person was subjected to such inhumane treatment by the police... We hope that the government and the senior police officials will take notice of this high-handed behaviour by their personnel and take disciplinary action against them," the lawyer said to Morning Star News.
Naeem Yousaf, executive director of the Catholic Church's National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP), condemned the arrest, saying Masih was "a victim of injustice and human indifference."
He said Pakistan's blasphemy laws continue to be weaponised against minorities, particularly the poor and disabled.
"Masih kept going all these years despite being a target of harsh social attitudes that fail to recognise disabled people as human beings," he said, as quoted by Morning Star News.
"Already burdened by poverty, blindness and social cruelty, he is now suffering even more behind the bars of a jail cell, a victim of injustice and human indifference," he added.
Human Rights Watch (HRW), in a recent report, also highlighted widespread misuse of Pakistan's blasphemy laws to settle personal disputes, seize property, and incite mob violence. The rights group said the laws are "vague and easily exploited", while police routinely fail to protect the accused or prosecute violent mobs.
Pakistan currently ranks eighth on Open Doors' 2025 World Watch List of countries where it is most dangerous to be a Christian. (ANI)