Pakistan police file ‘blasphemy’ case against feminist marchers

Organisers of the annual Aurat Aazdi march on International Women’s Day condemn allegations as ‘baseless and false’.

Islamabad, Pakistan – Pakistani police have registered a blasphemy case against organisers of the feminist Aurat Azadi [Women’s Freedom] March in a northwestern city, while a court in the country’s second city dismissed the same charges as having no grounds. Police in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar registered the First Information Report (FIR) under the country’s strict blasphemy laws, which can carry a mandatory death penalty, on Thursday. In a statement, organisers of the march, which is held annually to mark International Women’s Day on March 8, condemned the allegations as “baseless and false”.