Wrongful Invocation of Section 295 - Legislative Inadequacy in Pakistani Blasphemy Law

Abstract

The article studies how people incorrectly apply Sections 295, 295A, 295B, and 295C of the Pakistan Penal Code to cases that involve false blasphemy accusations. People misuse these legal provisions which were created to protect religious beliefs for their personal reasons to intimidate others which leads to their victims facing imprisonment and social rejection and death before they enter court. The article uses judicial decisions from Asia Bibi v. State and other High Court cases to demonstrate how the system permits false accusations to continue because it lacks basic evidence checks and does not hold accusers responsible and because its laws contain undefined terms. The analysis shows that legislative and procedural changes must happen to stop people from using blasphemy laws for harmful purposes while these laws still protect their intended targets.