Shafique Khokhar

The protest took place yesterday in front of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab. Many politicians, civil society leaders, and clerics were present. The cases of Patras Masih and his cousin Sajid, who is in hospital with serious injuries, were cited.

Sajid Masih is in intensive care in serious condition. His 17-year-old cousin is the Christian man arrested for blasphemy. Police agents wanted to force him to perform oral sex on his relative. For activist, "The government should punish the agents involved".

The initiative is part of Caritas’s environment-related development plans inspired by Pope Francis’s Laudato Si’. A "spiritual ecological conversion" is needed to save the environment that surrounds us.

Police arrested four people in connection with phoney blood samples taken from at least 12 women. The criminals promised government medical assistance but instead took advantage of the victims’ poverty.

The woman passed away at the age of 66 from cardiac arrest. She was a famous activist and Supreme Court lawyer. She co-founded the Pakistani Human Rights Commission and the Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan. "We lose a legend. Pakistani civil society has been orphaned".

An anti-terrorism court in Haripur announced its verdict today against 57 accused. Pakistan’s blasphemy law is used to settle “personal scores”. For one observer, the verdict “is just a first step”.

Yesterday, the 24-year-old suspect in the Zainab rape and murder case went before the anti-terrorism court. Islamic religious groups have rejected sex education. Justice must be “on a fast track”.

Anee Muskan is 18 and lives in Lahore with her parents. The text is a collection of stories and poems. The author defines herself as a "book addict". Her family’s example; "competition" with her brothers. Persevering in reading and writing just like training one’s muscles.

The Cecil & Iris Chaudhry Foundation organised a rally in Lahore. Sexual violence against minors is a scourge in Pakistan. A series of proposals is presented to protect defenceless children.

The country mourns Zainab, 7, from near Lahore. Her body, left in a rubbish dump, shows signs of torture. The "culture of rape" feeds on a cultural background defined by the division between men and women, misogyny, and abuses in madrassas.

Human Rights Focus Pakistan held a ceremony in Faisalabad. Christians and Muslims of good will work across the country against discrimination and the persecution of minorities. Taseer’s struggle continues with others bearing the torch.

Last year Muslim radicals instigated a trial for blasphemy on social media. For the government, using false cases is a “dangerous game”. Some changes to the Penal Code are proposed.