Man jailed for blasphemy may have been killed

A Pakistani Christian, jailed for blasphemy, has died in prison and his lawyer said he suspected the man was murdered.

Regional prison chief Ghulam Qadir Thebo said the prison’s doctor believed that Qumar David, 50, died of a heart attack on Tuesday in Karachi Central Jail after complaining of chest pain. An autopsy is to be carried out in the presence of his family members.

Two Pakistani politicians have been murdered this year for campaigning to change blasphemy laws that make it a capital offence to insult Islam. Critics say the laws are misused to persecute Christians or settle scores in the mostly Muslim country.

Human rights groups say Christians convicted under the law have been murdered by extremists.

David’s lawyer, Pervez Chaudhry, said he is 100% certain it was murder but was unable to offer evidence. Chaudhry said both he and David had received death threats during the 2010 trial. David was serving a 25-year prison term for blasphemy.

Pakistan’s ruling party is broadly secular, but is under pressure from Islamist political parties. It has not spoken out loudly against the murders of the politicians, and shelved plans to amend the laws to make them less open to abuse.

Meanwhile, seven prisoners were killed in clashes during a search by authorities for mobile phones in a Hyderabad jail. Prison officials said some of the inmates were armed and resisted the search. Officials said calm had been restored.