Introduction
In 2009, a Christian mother of five, Aasiya Noreen (AKA Asia Bibi), was arrested and charged with blasphemy under S. 295C of Pakistan’s Penal Code.[1] In 2010, Aasiya was sentenced to death for “insulting the Prophet”.[2] Aasiya’s case has garnered international attention,[3] and owing not only to the unconvincing case against her[4] but also the assassinations of two politicians associated with her case – Punjab governor Salman Taseer and Christian minorities minister Shabhaz Bhatti –[5] Pakistan’s anti-blasphemy law (hereon ‘blasphemy law’) has been placed under an increasingly intense spotlight.[6] In 1986, Pakistan’s blasphemy law, which is a legislative colonial relic of pre-partitioned India,[7] was amended under the military governance of General Zia-ul Haq to include the death penalty.[8] In 1991, the Federal Shariat Court of Pakistan struck down the option for life imprisonment, prescribing death and a heavy fine as obligatory punishments under S 295 C,[9] which reads:
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