The UN's Human Rights Committee has told Pakistan to end its blasphemy laws and do more to protect religious minorities.
Last week the committee adopted a set of observations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Signatories to the covenant agree to "promote universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and freedoms".
Observers say atheists, Ahmadi Muslims and Christians have been targeted for blasphemy in Pakistan. Some have been killed or forced to convert. In April Mashal Khan, a student, was killed by a lynch mob after being falsely accused of blasphemy. At least one man has been sentenced to death for blasphemy.
The committee said Pakistan has a high number of prosecutions for blasphemy based on false accusations. It said mobs and non-state actors had attacked those accused of blasphemy and their defenders. It added that judges dealing with blasphemy cases are often harassed, intimidated and threatened and there was a low rate of prosecution and conviction of perpetrators.
It criticised the Pakistani government's wider record on free expression, including its use of "religiously biased content in textbooks and curricula in public schools and madrassas". Defamation is a criminal offence in Pakistan, and there have been legal crackdowns on the media.
