On August 5th 2023, Abdul Rauf Baloch, an English teacher, was brutally killed by unidentified gunmen in the city of Turbat in southern Balochistan in Pakistan, following accusations of blasphemy. Rauf, who denied the allegations, was on his way to explain his position to a group of Islamic scholars when he was murdered.
Abdul Rauf had recently undertaken the Law Admission Test, aspiring for a bright future. He was also the teacher in a local school where students had lodged complaints with local clerics, accusing Mr. Rauf of committing blasphemy during a lecture over the gravity. The allegations eventually led him to death without any judicial proceeding.
The Baloch Solidarity Committee organized a protest and claimed “a new genocide is being laid under the pretext of false accusations in the name of religion.”
For years the misuse of religious accusations was common against Christian minorities in Pakistan but now this unjust law has become a serious threat even for Muslims. A law which was designed to harass the non-Muslims is now taking lives of hundreds of citizens of Pakistan every year regardless of their religion. This is an alarming situation for the nation of Pakistan and possibly the time to abolish the law which ruins the peace of country and is responsible for the loss of many innocent lives.
