A wife and daughter have accused their Christian husband and father of committing blasphemy in the first case of its kind in Pakistan.
Anwar Masih from Lahore has been charged under blasphemy law 295-C for uttering blasphemous words about the Prophet Muhmmad (PBUH). Last week, the Civil Line police station registered a case against Mr Masih.
According to the first information report (FIR), the complainants are his wife Kausar Parveen and his daughter Samreen.
The police have confiscated their mobile phones, which contain evidence to prove that he has committed blasphemy.
This is argubly the first case in the country where the wife and daughter both are witnesses against the husband and the father.
According to reports, Samreen and Kausar were running a beauty parlour and Samreen had been having an affair with a Muslim man, who she is now married to and eight months pregnant.
Samreen converted to Islam, while Anwar was kept in the dark and never told by his wife nor daughter about the marriage or conversion.
Once Anwar found out, he was naturally shocked and furious that his wife and daughter did not tell him.
He shouted at his daughter and wife, and allegedly abused Islam too which was recorded by his daughter on her phone, which has been confiscated, it is part of the record and is to be produced in court when the hearing starts.
The police have kept Anwar at an unknown place for security reasons, while the mother and daughter are hiding at an unknown location.
Nasir Saeed, Director of Centre for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS)-UK said: “This is shocking news for me that a wife and daughter have both gathered to witness against their husband and father and complained against him to the police.
“This is another example of the misuse of the blasphemy law where a daughter gets rid of her father, and a wife her husband, simply because he cannot accept what they have done.”