Mosque Leader Suspected of Framing Pakistani Teenager

The World
The World

Police in Pakistan have detained a Muslim cleric suspected of planting evidence to frame a young Christian girl for blasphemy.

Last month, 14-year-old Rimsha Masih was arrested, and accused by the Imam Khalid Chishti of carrying burned pages from an Islamic children’s textbook. She’s been in a high security prison ever since, even though she was deemed to be a juvenile with some mental impairment. Now, it turns out the cleric making the accusation may have done the deed himself.

Journalist and independent Pakistani filmmaker Beena Sarwar tells anchor Lisa Mullins that blasphemy cases in Pakistan often have to do with economic and political rivalry.

Are you with The World?

The story you just read is available to read for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, the reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.

When you make a gift of $10 or more a month, we’ll invite you to a virtual behind-the-scenes tour of our newsroom to thank you for being with The World.