Pakistan's Opposition protest against blasphemy sentence

Pakistan's two main opposition parties in the National Assembly reportedly protested against a death sentence passed by a Lahore court against a Christian man on charges of blasphemy.

Shirin Mazari of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and then Shazia Marri of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) complained against persecution of minority communities in the country on basis of fraudulent blasphemy charges.

According to the Dawn, after lawmakers of the two parties seemed unconvinced by a statement by the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-N's young member Hamza Shahbaz Sharif, son of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, about the concern showed by the provincial administration over the March 7, 2013 incident and help given to the sufferers of the Joseph Colony neighbourhood, Deputy Speaker Murtaza Javed Abbasi disallowed any more discussion on the Lahore court verdict before adjourning the house.

A Pakistan court had reportedly sentenced Sawan Masih to death on account of blasphemy, triggering a riot in Lahore.

The accused was found guilty of insulting the Prophet Mohammed, following a conversation with a Muslim friend in the Joseph Colony neighborhood of Lahore in March last year.