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The Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights was informed on Friday that 179 people were under detention and facing trials across the country on charges of blasphemy, while 17 had been sentenced.<\/p>\n
The findings were submitted to the Senate panel by the National Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (NHRC).<\/p>\n
Last month, Senator Walid Iqbal, chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights, had sought details<\/a> of blasphemy cases from the NCHR during a meeting that was called days after the Jaranwala incident<\/a>, when a violent mob destroyed dozens of houses and churches over allegations of blasphemy.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the law was used against Muslims, then details on this should also be provided,\u201d he had told Dawn<\/em>.<\/p>\n The committee had also adopted a recommendation to constitute a national coordination committee within the Ministry of Human Rights to draft standard operating procedures for \u201ceffective control on issues that cause suffering to minorities\u201d.<\/p>\n In a report submitted to the committee today, a copy of which has been seen by Dawn.com<\/em>, the NHRC said a total of 179 people in the country were under arrest on blasphemy charges.<\/p>\n Breaking down the figures by provinces, the report indicated that 17 people were detained in Islamabad, 18 in Punjab, 78 in Sindh, 55 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one in Balochistan.<\/p>\n