Published on: 10 November 2023
BACKGROUND SUMMARY
Pastor Zafar Bhatti has been imprisoned in Adiala Central Jail in Rawalpindi, Punjab Province, since 2012. He was arrested after Ahmed Khan, deputy secretary of the local branch of the Islamic organisation Jamat Ahle-Sunnat, filed a police report stating he had received text messages from an unknown number insulting the prophet Mohammed’s mother.
Zafar was charged under Section 295C of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws which carries the death penalty. Typically, a case involving blasphemy against the prophet’s mother would be tried under Section 295A which does not carry the death penalty.
Prior to this incident, Pastor Zafar worked as a door-to-door salesman of medicines, often taking the time to pray and read the Bible with his clients. He is the founder of the charity ‘Jesus World Mission.’
UPDATE: October 2024 – Security concerns have caused significant and multiple delays in the final court ruling in Zafar’s case. Please join us in praying that the Lord set Zafar free from prison soon and reunite him with his wife.
Zafar is suffering from serious health issues, including diabetes and heart problems. In April 2024 we were told that his heart is functioning at a mere 10%, causing severe complications as blood is not being pumped effectively throughout his body. Please keep him in your prayers!
TIMELINE
July 22, 2012: Arrested by police.
April 24, 2017: Trial began. Due to threats to his life, the court’s proceedings are conducted in prison.
May 3, 2017: Sentenced to life imprisonment for blasphemy even though the mobile phone in question was not registered underhis name and the prosecutor’s office had no other evidence against him.
December 2018: First appeal hearing postponed.
April 25, 2019: After multiple delays, judge stated that due to a ‘lack of evidence,’ Zafar will be released. However, the judge allowed the police and the prosecutor’s office until June 19 to collect new evidence.
June 19, 2019: Appeal hearing postponed for the seventh time. More postponements followed.
October 19, 2019: Appeal hearing transferred to another court.
December 16, 2019: The judge refused to hear Zafar’s appeal due to a lawyers’ strike in Punjab Province. Zafar’s doctor stated that he is in danger of suffering another more dangerous heart attack.
January 21, 2020: Appeal hearing delayed, now due to the prosecution’s inquiry into the blasphemous messages.
March 25, 2020: Appeal hearing postponed due to COVID-19.
September 3, 2020: Zafar suffered a heart attack. His lawyer requested that bail be granted based on medical grounds.
September 10, 2020: Lahore High Court requested the police superintendent begin a medical inquiry.
November 2, 2020: Bail is denied based on medical grounds.
June 21, 2021: As hearing delays continued, Zafar’s life sentence was upheld. His lawyer appealed to the High Court.
October 18, 2021: After further delays, a judge at the Rawalpindi bench of the Lahore High Court referred Zafar’s appeal to a lower court.
December 16, 2021: At the hearing at the Rawalpindi District Court, Zafar’s lawyer presented the judge with evidence of Zafar’s innocence. The judge called the evidence “weighty.”
January 3, 2022: Judge Shehzad of Rawalpindi District Court ruled that a death sentence be imposed on Zafar.
March 4, 2022: Zafar’s lawyer applied for bail on medical grounds. The court denied the application for bail.
November 2022: Zafar has a new lawyer, Saiful Malook (the same lawyer who secured the acquittal of Asia Bibi in October 2018 and Shagufta Kausar and Shafqat Emmanuel in June 2021.)
March 8, 2023: Appeal hearing at the High Court Bench Rawalpindi canceled.
April 8, 2024: Zafar is struggling with severe health complications while in prison. Today we were informed that his heart is working at a mere 10%.
May 2024: Zafar’s lawyer appeared for a hearing, however the plaintiff’s lawyer failed to appear on three separate occasions.August 2024: A final verdict on Zafar’s appeal of his death sentence is expected soon.August 2024: A final verdict on Zafar’s appeal for bail is expected soon.
October 2024: The judge has delayed issuing the final verdict on Zafar’s bail appeal.
PRAYER NEEDS
- Health: Pastor Zafar suffers from many health-related issues, including diabetes, cataract, heart disease, and bad circulation in his lower limbs. It is believed that he has survived many attempts to end his life while in prison. Pray that the Lord will encourage him, raise him out of depression and restore to him the joy of his salvation. Pray that the Lord will heal his broken body which has suffered much torture from police and prison guards these last 11 years.
- Family: Pastor Zafar’s wife, Nawab, also suffers from health-related issues. She had to move to Lahore in order to receive care. The absence of her husband and the inability to visit him often weighs heavy on her heart. Pray that the Lord will comfort her and provide for all of her needs.
- Justice: Pray that the death sentence be overturned, and that Pastor Zafar will be able to go home to his wife.
TAKE ACTION – Write a letter
Please encourage Zafar as he begins his twelfth year in prison. We urge you to write letters of encouragement and hope.
UPDATE: We have recently learned that blasphemy inmates in Pakistan are not allowed to receive personal correspondence. If you would like to send Pastor Zafar a note of encouragement, please send them to us at info@dohi.org and we will find an alternative way of delivering it to him. Thank you!
Letters can be sent to: (view Sample Letters here)
Prisoner, Zafar Bhatti
Central Jail Adiala
Adiala Road
Rawalpindi, Punjab
Pakistan 46606
Be sure to sign your letter with your first name only. (Please read our Prayer & Action Useful Tips to familiarize yourself with important safety measures when corresponding with persecuted Christians in foreign countries.)
Address the envelope as follows:
TAKE ACTION – Advocate on behalf of the prisoner
We have a strong advocate in the US Commission on International Religious Freedom in Washington D.C.
Write to the USCIRF today and encourage their diplomatic efforts on behalf of Pastor Zafar Bhatti and others like him who have been imprisoned in Pakistan on false charges of blasphemy.
Send your letter to: (view Sample Letters here)
Chair: Rabbi Abraham Cooper
Address: 732 N. Capitol Street, N.W., Suite A714,
Washington, D.C. 20401
