Christian couple arrested in Pakistan after ‘torn pages of Quran found’

Anyone found to have insulted Islam or Islamic figures in Pakistan can be handed the death penalty

File. Supporters of a religious group ‘Tehreek-e-Labiak Pakistan’ chant slogans during a rally against a woman who was arrested over blasphemy charges, in Lahore, Pakistan, 17 April 2023 (Associated Press)

A Christian couple in Pakistan has reportedly been arrested after torn pages of the Quran were found on the roof of their house.

Shaukat Masih and his wife, Kiran Masih, are now facing blasphemy charges and were arrested by the police from their Lahore home on Sunday.

Under Pakistan law, if convicted, they face the death penalty for the alleged desecration of Islam’s holy book.

This comes almost a month after a mob of Muslim men attacked dozens of churches and several homes belonging to Christians in Jaranwala’s Isa Nagri area in Punjab province. The violent protests by Muslims were triggered by blasphemy accusations against a Christian family.

The authorities cracked down against the mob and arrested nearly 150 people after the attacks.

Meanwhile, a Muslim man, identified by local media as Mohammad Taimur, filed a police complaint against the Christian couple who are residents of Docage Town, Rangers Headquarters at Harbanspura in Lahore.

According to the police complaint, “it appeared that the pages had been thrown from the roof of a house under which they were found”.

Mr Taimur “knocked on the door and a woman named Kiran Masih opened the door. I showed her the torn pages of the Quran to her. She responded that her minor daughters might have thrown the pages”.

The first information report – the first step in a police investigation – says that “Taimur went to the rooftop of the house and found a pink colour bag with more pages of the Quran”.

A senior police official told the local media that the “couple’s three children could have also been booked after their mother alleged that they might have thrown the pages in the street”.

However, only the couple has been booked under blasphemy charges.

In Pakistan, blasphemy is a sensitive issue and if anyone is found to have insulted Islam or any Islamic figures, they can be handed the death penalty.

According to the latest available data, between 2011 and 2015, more than 1,296 blasphemy cases were filed in Pakistan.

Christians comprise approximately 2 per cent of the population in Pakistan.