A nine-year-old child and his mother have narrowly escaped a death sentence under Pakistan’s draconian blasphemy laws.
The boy, known only as Inzam, was at school when he was accused of burning a Koran on Thursday October 20. He and his mother Shakil, a nurse who works in Quetta, were arrested the following day without any investigation or evidence. Under Pakistani law the witness of a Muslim is given higher authority than that of a non-Muslim.
They were released on Tuesday this week following community tension and pressure from local politicians and the British Pakistani Christian Association (BPCA). Police confirmed that no evidence had been found of desecration of a Koran.
