PAKISTAN: SHARIAT COURT STATES DEATH ONLY PENALTY FOR BLASPHEMER

December 5, 2013: After 23 years, the Federal Shariat Court (FSC) has issued orders to remove the provision of life-imprisonment from the blasphemy law, stating that only death is punishment for blasphemy and sought a report from the government for implementation of the order within a couple of months.
A five-judge larger bench, headed by Justice Fida Hussain, heard a contempt of court petition on Wednesday (December 4), filed by Advocate Hashmat Habib.
Issuing its verdict, the court noted that in its ruling of 1990, the FSC had clarified that the mention of life imprisonment with death sentence should be removed from the blasphemy law, as humiliation of any prophet was intolerable and the one doing so should be given only death sentence.
According to the petition, the verdict of the Shariat Court, dated 1990, could not be implemented until now and, therefore, its implementation should be asked for immediately and the contempt proceedings be started against those failing to abide by this provision of the law. (Sources: thenews.com.pk, 05/12/2013)