• Pakistan - Social activists at odds with religious scholars over blasphemy

The country's blasphemy law is a source of great contention between social scientists, human rights activists and Islamic scholars. The civil society activists opine that the blasphemy law is responsible for an increase in crime and discourage the use of the death sentence. The scholars, meanwhile, believe that the law is in accordance with Sharia and justifies extreme punishment. However, spokesmen of other religious believe that minorities in Pakistan are being unduly victimised in the name of blasphemy.