A Pakistani court in September acquitted a Christian of blasphemy charges, but his supporters did not reveal that fact until this month due to security concerns, his lawyer said.
Sargodha Magistrate Syed Faizan-e-Rasool on September 27 acquitted Haroon Shahzad, 47, of blasphemy charges committed by Muhammad Imran Ladhar after his Muslim accuser withdrew his charges (June 30, 2023), according to Christian lawyer Aneeka Maria.
Rudhar made this claim after Shahzad posted a Bible verse on Facebook. Mr. Shahzad was granted bail on November 6, 2023 and has been in hiding since then, but did not announce his acquittal earlier due to security concerns, Maria added.
“The complainant, who was also the prosecution’s key witness, acquitted Mr. Shahzad of the charges, but the prosecutor argued that the remaining prosecution evidence was sufficient to convict the defendant,” she told Christian Daily International Morning Star News. “However, the judge noted that the prosecutor’s cross-examination of key witnesses did not favor the prosecution, and the case deteriorated beyond repair.”
The ruling also stated that the Bible is unquestionably respected by Muslims and that the Koran also asks Muslims not to judge those who believe in the Gospel. Later, the magistrate acquitted Shahzad of the charges framed under Sections 295-A and 298 of the Pakistan Blasphemy Act, the lawyer said.
Section 295-A relates to “deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious sentiments of any class by insulting religion or religious beliefs” and is punishable by imprisonment for up to 10 years or fine or both. Article 298 provides for up to one year in prison or a fine, or both, for hurting religious sentiments.
“This verdict reveals the serious fragility of justice itself,” Maria said. “This case reveals a system in which an individual’s freedom, dignity, and entire future is held hostage by a flawed process, where accusations alone can cause chaos, upend lives, and tear apart families.”
The court correctly highlighted the unfairness in this case, she noted.
“But we have to ask: How many others are enduring similar ordeals without such clear revocation?” Maria said. “How many lives have been scarred by a process that should have protected rather than punished innocent people?”
Shahzad, a painting contractor, posted on his Facebook page 1 Cor on June 29, 2023. 10:18-21 refers to food sacrificed to idols at the beginning of the four-day festival of Eid al-Adha, when Muslims slaughtered animals and shared the meat. Muslim villagers took screenshots of the posts and sent them to local social media groups, accusing Shahzad of likening Muslims to infidels and disrespecting the Abrahamic tradition of animal sacrifice.
Mr. Shahzad did not comment on the post, inflammatory or otherwise, but the situation became tense after Friday prayers, when an announcement came over the mosque’s loudspeaker urging people to gather in protest. Fearing violence as the number of mobs increased in the village, most Christian families fled their homes, leaving everything behind.
Earlier, Shahzad told Morning Star News that he made the accusation out of a grudge, as the complainant, Radar, was a member of the now-exiled Islamic extremist party Tehreek-e-Rabbaik Pakistan and was also said to have ties to the banned terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.
Shahzad said he and his family acquired valuable government land, allocated it for the construction of a church building, and filed multiple lawsuits against the allocation, all of which were lost after four years of legal battles.
Regarding the social media post, Shahzad said he did not intend to hurt the feelings of Muslims by sharing the Bible verse on his Facebook page.
“I posted this poem a week before Eid al-Adha, but I had no idea it would be used to target me and my family,” he said. “In fact, when I learned that Ladar was provoking the villagers against me, I decided to delete the post and meet the village elders to explain my position.”
Pakistan, where more than 96 percent of the population is Muslim, was ranked eighth on Open Doors’ 2025 World Watch List of countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.
