A four year long battle against accusations of blasphemy is finally over for two Christian nurses in Pakistan.
Mariam Lal and Newosh Arooj have been acquitted of blasphemy, ending a case that forced them into hiding for fear of mob violence from local Muslims. A district court ruled that the prosecution failed to substantiate the charge, brought against the women, who were charged under Section 295-B of Pakistan’s Penal Code. The section prescribes life imprisonment for anyone who damages Qur’anic text.
The charges came after accusations by a senior doctor in Civil Hospital in Punjab Province’s Faisalabad city were made public. In April 2021 the nurses, who worked at the hospital, were accused of defiling a sticker with an Islamic inscription pasted on a hospital cupboard. As more persons found out about the accusations, the nurses closely escaped an attempted lynching by an angry mob and were later arrested by authorities. Both nurses were in custody for five months before they were permitted to await trial outside of jail. The court also allowed them to avoid public appearances, as there were still credible threats to their lives. For the duration of the proceedings, the nurses were not able to work and needed security measures to be implemented, due to ongoing intimidation.
The women were acquitted in November 2025, and the deadline for authorities to appeal the decision was set for this month. However, no appeal was made, according to Aid to the Church in Need, which offers assistance to Christians in need where they are oppressed or persecuted. The National Commission for Justice and Peace conducted the nurses’ legal defense , a Catholic body supported by Aid to the Church in Need.
Local advocates in Pakistan have also reacted to the case, describing the ruling as a rare instance of a lower court acquitting defendants in a blasphemy case. These cases are typically deferred to higher courts as a result of social pressure.
The blasphemy law, found in Sections 295 and 298 of Pakistan’s penal code, is frequently misused for personal revenge. While it permits the death penalty for those convicted of insulting Islam or its Prophet Muhammad, it carries no provision to punish a false accuser or a false witness of blasphemy.
Islamic radicals are believed to often leverage the law to target religious minorities, including Christians, Shias, Ahmadiyyas and Hindus. The Centre for Social Justice, a non-profit organization focused on advocacy, policy research, and monitoring minority rights, in Pakistan reported that 200 people were accused of blasphemy in 2020. This it says is a record number of cases in one year. The organization also reports that at least 1,855 people have been charged under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws since 1987 when amendments introduced mandatory life imprisonment or the death penalty for insulting Islam or its figures.
