After 30 days in custody, police released Babu Shahbaz Masih, an illiterate evangelist from Lahore, who was arrested and accused of ‘blasphemy’ in December after pages of the Qu’ran with his name written on them were found in the street.
Although cleared of all charges, police have advised 41-year-old Babu, his wife and three children not to return home, as local Muslims are still pressuring police to charge him. Christians accused of ‘blasphemy’ are rarely able to go back to their former lives, even if, as in Babu’s case, charges have been dropped, because of often violent threats from zealous Muslims.
