At least 329 persons were allegedly accused of blasphemy in the year 2023. Of these, 247 (75%) accused were Muslims, 65 were Ahmadis, 11 were Christians, one was Hindu, while the religious affiliation of 5 accused is not known.
The US State Department gave prestigious award for Jacob’s commitment to religious freedoms and human rights in Pakistan. For Judge Nasira Iqbal, this is “a remarkable achievement for all Pakistanis, as human rights defenders like Peter Jacob work hard to promote social cohesion and equality of rights for all.”
The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) organized an event to celebrate the contributions of Peter Jacob who received the prestigious Department of State's International Religious Freedom Award on the 25th anniversary of International Religious Freedom Act 1998.
During my recent visit to Karachi, I attended the Sixth International Conference ‘State of the Media 2023’ at Greenwich University . It took me back to the 1990s when I used to teach.