Pakistan News, Pakistan: 8 year old Hindu boy accused of blasphemy, can be punished with death 8 year old Hindu boy youngest person ever to be charged with blasphemy in Pakistan

New Delhi: An 8-year-old Hindu boy has been accused of blasphemy in Pakistan. He is the youngest child to be accused of blasphemy in Pakistan. A media report said that the boy has since been kept in protective police custody.

According to the Guardian News report, the boy’s family is in hiding. Several Hindu communities have fled their homes in the orthodox district of Rahim Yar Khan in Punjab province after a Muslim mob attacked a Hindu temple following the boy’s release on bail last week. Troops have been deployed in the area to maintain peace. On August 7, 20 people were arrested in connection with the temple attack. The boy is alleged to have deliberately urinated on a carpet in the library of a madrasa, where religious books were kept, last month. The Guardian report said blasphemy charges could carry the death penalty.

Speaking from an undisclosed location, a member of the boy’s family told the Guardian, “He (the boy) is not aware of such blasphemy issues and is falsely implicated in these cases.” He still did not understand what his crime was. And why was he kept in jail for a week? We have given up our shops and work, the entire community is scared and we fear a reaction. We do not want to return to this area. We do not think that any concrete and meaningful action will be taken against the culprits or for the safety of the minority residing here.

The allegations of blasphemy filed against a child have shocked legal experts, who say the move is unprecedented. No one has ever been accused of blasphemy in Pakistan before such a young man. However, no one has been hanged for blasphemy in the country since the death penalty for the crime was introduced in 1986. Yes, suspects are often attacked and sometimes killed by mobs.