An Elderly Christian Charged with Blasphemy in Pakistan

Younis Bhatti, known as Bhagat, was charged with desecrating the Quran under Section 295-B of Pakistan’s blasphemy statutes, which carries a mandatory life sentence, in village 211-RB, Jaranwala Tehsil, Faisalabad District, Punjab Province, said Asher Sarfaraz, chief executive of Christians True Spirit (CTS).

Younis Bhatti, known as Bhagat, was charged with desecrating the Quran under Section 295-B of Pakistan’s blasphemy statutes, which carries a mandatory life sentence, in village 211-RB, Jaranwala Tehsil, Faisalabad District, Punjab Province, said Asher Sarfaraz, chief executive of Christians True Spirit (CTS).

According to Sarfaraz, the complainant, Sosan Fatima, has been a member of the Bhatti family-founded Brother’s House church but has also told the Khurrianwala Police that she and her husband converted to Islam more than a year ago.

In her complaint, Fatima alleged Bhatti opposed the family’s conversion to Islam.

“But our investigation has revealed that Fatima implicated Bhatti in a false blasphemy case to prevent him from reclaiming his property,” Sarfaraz said.

The government had allotted Bhatti and his five brothers six acres of land, which they subleased to poor Christians for affordable housing.

“Bhatti has a good reputation in the area and extends help to Christians. He allowed Fatima and her crippled husband to live in a house on the allotted land free of charge about two years ago,” Sarfaraz said. “The dispute began some months ago after Bhatti told Fatima that he wanted to accommodate another Christian family on the property. He told her he would construct a wall to divide the 1,361 square-foot property between the two families equally, but she refused to let him proceed.”

Area residents told Sarfaraz that on Saturday (Feb. 10), Bhatti had not yet entered Fatima’s house when she began screaming and hurling allegations of blasphemy against him.

“Residents have also confirmed that Fatima was a regular churchgoer, but she had claimed to be a Muslim just to entrap Bhatti in the false case,” Sarfaraz said.

At least 15 Christian families were living in the area. Still, the blasphemy accusation has forced them to move to Faisalabad out of concern for Muslim attacks in the wake of the riots that occurred there on August 16 because of the false blasphemy accusation.

“We are holding talks with senior police officials to ensure the safe return of these families to their homes,” Sarfaraz said. “The families are naturally scared because of the Jaranwala riots, but we are trying to allay their security concerns.”

Jaranwala Pastor Sharoon Masih said Bhatti was a widower with three sons and two daughters.

In the Aug. 16 attacks, area Muslims ransacked and burned multiple churches and homes over allegations that two Christian brothers had desecrated the Quran and written blasphemous content. Police investigations have revealed that a Christian named Pervaiz Masih entrapped the two brothers in the case because he suspected that the younger one was having an affair with his wife.

The Rev. Khalid Mukhtar, a Catholic priest who is also one of the complainants against the assailants in Jaranwala, said he had been told that Bhatti had regarded Fatima as a genuine sister in Christ as a member of his church and that he was unhappy with her for renouncing her faith.

“I haven’t been able to confirm this information yet from the Bhatti family as they have left their homes, but prima facie, the woman has leveled a false allegation against the septuagenarian,” Mukhtar said.

“It’s important to investigate such incidents thoroughly before registering the cases to deter false accusations,” Mukhtar said. “Immediate arrest of those accused of blasphemy only encourages more false accusations, because it takes years for the accused to prove their innocence.”

Pakistan ranked seventh on Open Doors’ 2024 World Watch List of the most challenging places to be a Christian, as it was the previous year.