An 18-year-old Christian in Pakistan imprisoned for greater than 17 months on blasphemy charges was expected to be released on bail next week, his lawyer said.
Akash Karamat had won bail on Dec. 19Â for considered one of three blasphemy cases filed against him, and judges last week granted bail to him for the opposite two cases. The written order for release within the second case was issued on Tuesday (Feb. 18), with the opposite order expected next week, said his attorney, Asad Jamal.
Lahore High Court Justice Asjad Javed Ghural on Feb. 13 allowed bail for Karamat on statutory grounds within the case registered against him on Aug. 20, 2023 under Sections 295-A and 295-B of the blasphemy statutes against a surety bond of 100,000 rupees ($358 USD), Jamal said. In the opposite case, High Court Justice Shehram Sarwar granted bail on Wednesday (Feb. 19) for one more case registered on Aug. 25, 2023 under Section 295-B.
Section 295-B pertains to desecration of Quran and is punishable with life imprisonment, while Section 295-A prescribes imprisonment of as much as 10 years for hurting religious sentiments.
Lahore High Court Justice Muhammad Waheed Khan on Dec. 19 had granted bail to Karamat in essentially the most serious case registered on July 16, 2023, under multiple sections of the blasphemy law, including Section 295-C, which carries a compulsory death penalty and life imprisonment. A trial court last July 20 declared that the Christian was a juvenile on the time of his arrest.
Karamat was initially arrested in a case registered by Satellite Town police in Sargodha District, Punjab Province, on July 16, 2023 and later implicated in two more cases of various police stations on the idea of mere suspicion, Jamal said.
Regarding the bail for the second case, Jamal said Justice Ghural noted that Karamat was not named within the crime report but was booked through a supplementary statement of the complainant.
“The judge also observed that the petitioner was a juvenile on the time of the alleged occurrence, but amazingly despite the elapse of greater than one-and-half years of his incarceration, the challan [charge sheet] had not been submitted in court by the police,” Jamal told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News.
He added that the judge further observed that Karamat couldn’t be kept in prison for an indefinite period as a measure of advance punishment when early conclusion of trial shouldn’t be in sight.
“The court noted that the accused was not liable for the delay within the trial, due to this fact he was also entitled to statutory bail under Section 497 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC),” Jamal said, adding that in keeping with the section, if suspects haven’t been formally charged, the trial has not been concluded inside two years and the delay shouldn’t be resulting from the accused, they needs to be granted bail.
Jamal demanded bail for Karamat within the third case on similar grounds, he said.
“I also informed Justice Sarwar that the forensic report of the CCTV footage had failed to ascertain the facial identity of my client,” he said. “The judge accepted my arguments and ordered Karamat’s release on bail against a surety of 100,000 Pakistani Rupees [$358 USD].”
An in depth verdict shall be issued by next week, he added.
Describing a hostile environment through the hearing in Justice Sarwar’s court, Jamal said the complainant’s legal team comprised an attorney group that takes up blasphemy prosecutions as an Islamic duty.
“These lawyers from the Khtam-e-Nabuwwat (Finality of Prophethood) Lawyers Forum tried their best to pressure the court by saying that the accused fled the country after getting bails, leaving the cases in limbo,” he said.
Jamal said he would begin processing Karamat’s release order as soon because the family arranges the surety bonds in all three cases.
“The family could be very poor and is already forced to live in hiding resulting from the safety risks in blasphemy cases,” Jamal told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. “They will need more protection when Karamat is released from prison and reunites together with his family.”
Akash Karamat’s father, Karamat Masih, previously spoke concerning the difficulties his family has faced since police arrested his son on Aug. 27, 2023.
“I used to earn a livelihood for the family through my tailoring shop, but after Akash was arrested, we were forced to shut it down and leave our home to save lots of ourselves from violence,” he told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. “We’ve been surviving hand-to-mouth since then.”
Akash Karamat was accused of writing blasphemous posters and desecrating the Quran in areas of Sargodha, allegedly in retaliation for the Aug. 16, 2023, Muslim mob attacks on multiple churches and houses of Christians in Jaranwala, Faisalabad District, after two Christian men were accused of committing blasphemy.
Pakistan ranked eighth on Open Doors’ 2025 World Watch List of essentially the most difficult places to be a Christian, because it was the previous yr.
