Islamabad, July 19: Pakistan’s Supreme Court has overturned the sentences of the final three men convicted in the 2014 murder of a Christian couple, a decision that has once again drawn criticism from Church leaders who say religious minorities in the country are routinely denied justice after being targeted in incidents of violence, according to a recent report.
The victims, 26-year-old Shahzad Masih and his 24-year-old pregnant wife Shama Bibi, were brutally killed after being thrown into a brick kiln furnace on November 4, 2014, in Kasur district of Pakistan’s Punjab province.Masih and Bibi, who worked as labourers at a local brick kiln, were falsely accused of desecrating pages of the Quran, according to a report published by PJ Media.
The report stated that the owner of the brick kiln allegedly stopped the couple from fleeing because of a financial dispute. It further alleged that a local Islamic cleric used the mosque loudspeaker to incite people against the couple.
Soon after, a mob of more than 1,000 people reportedly gathered at the site. The couple was allegedly beaten and tortured before being thrown alive into the blazing industrial brick kiln, where they were burned to death.
According to the report, the apex court also dismissed the Punjab provincial government’s appeal challenging the acquittal of 102 other people accused of participating in the attack. As a result of the latest ruling, no individual remains convicted in the murder case of the Christian couple.
Following the killings in 2014, an anti-terrorism court had convicted several accused persons, awarding the death penalty to five men while sentencing eight others to two years’ imprisonment.
However, over the years, higher courts gradually set aside most of the convictions, citing deficiencies in evidence and shortcomings in the prosecution’s case.
Catholic Church leaders expressed disappointment, saying the ruling reflected a continuing pattern in which Christians and other minority communities fail to receive justice after targeted attacks. (IANS)
