Pakistan (MNN) — On June 25, 2025, a 72-year-old Christian in Pakistan was acquitted of alleged blasphemy against Islam’s prophet Mohammad. The Supreme Court of Pakistan ruled that a person with mental health conditions could not be held responsible for such a crime. 

The acquittal is worth celebrating — but there’s more to the story. Ankwar Kenneth had already spent 23 years on death row under these blasphemy charges.

Mob attack in recent years (Photo courtesy of FMI)

What’s more, Nehemiah with FMI explains that acquittals like this are extremely rare in Pakistan. He refers to those caught in these cases as “blasphemy accused.”

“Right now [as] I’m talking, there [are] over 700 blasphemy accused sitting in the prison without any hearing in the court — because the judges are being harassed by the religious extremist organizations in Pakistan, and then lawyers or law firms are being harassed and threatened.” 

It’s not just Christians. Muslims and Hindus are also accused of blasphemy. Nehemiah explains that the vague language of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws allows people to use accusations to settle personal scores or seize property.

Nehemiah says mob culture plays a terrifying role. 

“In many cases, individuals accused of blasphemy are killed by angry mobs before their case is even heard. These extrajudicial killings are fueled by religious extremism and a culture of fear and silence,” he says.

“Law enforcement agencies often [stand] by passively, either out of fear or sympathies [for the mobs]. Over the past decades, dozens of people have been lynched or burned alive, including mentally ill individuals and children.”

This culture of violence has become the norm in Pakistan. Yet Christians living under these pressures remember someone else who was falsely accused. 

“Even Jesus was blasphemy accused Himself,” says Nehemiah. (Matthew 26:57–68) 

Please pray

FMI supports church planters in Pakistan in both spiritual and practical ways — from prayer to physical aid to legal assistance to relocation help.

Pray for God to give strength, courage, faith and endurance to the Pakistani Church. Pray for boldness for FMI church planters under severe persecution.

“[Pray] that they will continue to proclaim Christ boldly — not with fear, but with compassion and truth even under the threat of arrest or violence or death threat. Pray that their work would bear much fruit: new believers, disciple[d] leaders, and strong underground churches,” says Nehemiah.

And who do Pakistani believers pray for in the midst of “hopeless” circumstances? 

“[As] Christians, we cannot have any enemy, because Jesus says, ‘Love your enemies,’” Nehemiah says with a laugh. “So the only hope is Jesus and we just keep loving and praying for our Muslim brothers in Pakistan.”

Header photo of Pakistan church group (Photo courtesy of FMI)