Pakistan: Prominent Shi'ite religious leader detained under the newly enacted blasphemy legislation

Following a legal case involving a retired Sunni teacher in Pakistan, the country made revisions to Article 298-A of its Criminal Code last month. This article is part of Pakistan's blasphemy laws and deals with the punishment for showing disrespect to "the Prophet's wives, family, close associates, and the Righteous Caliphs." The previous penalty for this offense, which was imprisonment for one month to three years, was increased to a minimum of ten years to life imprisonment, in addition to a fine of one million rupees.

In the city of Skardu, the largest in the Gilgit-Baltistan region, a prominent Shiite cleric named Agha Baqir al-Hussaini was arrested. He had chaired a meeting in mid-August where he criticized the new law and asserted that Shiites would not renounce their criticism of the relatives and associates of the Prophet who rejected Ali's succession. Consequently, on August 22, local Sunnis took to the streets to demand his arrest.