- Pakistan’s notorious blasphemy laws and the plight of its non-Muslim minorities will be in the spotlight next month when an international church body convenes a high-profile hearing in Geneva on the subject.
- The World Council of Churches (WCC) has timed the event to coincide with a session of the U.N. Human Rights Council, located in the same Swiss city.
- Pakistan has been a member of the U.N.’s top human rights body ever since it was established in 2006, and it is running for a new, four-year term when the U.N. “elects” new members on November 12. It is virtually guaranteed a seat, since the Asian group has submitted a closed slate of candidates, meaning there will be no contest.
- As leader of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation on the council, Islamabad has spearheaded the Muslim bloc’s drive against “religious defamation,” a concept critics say is an attempt to extend blasphemy-type restrictions beyond the Islamic world.
- Now it will find its own blasphemy provisions at center stage.
Pakistan’s Blasphemy Laws to be Spotlighted As It Seeks New Seat on U.N. Human Rights Council | CNSNews.com
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