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> Do you think Pakistan would overturn blasphemy law if it were threatened or the funds taken away? Yes

• awb 5y ago
  Per the article, many of those accused of blasphemy don’t even make it to the courthouse before vigilante justice happens, and if they do judges are pressured to convict and impose harsh sentences, as in this case. So, it’s not just the government, it’s the culture as well which can’t be easily be changed with funding threats. Also, the funding probably won’t just disappear. Another world power (or powers) would likely step in to fill that influence vacuum. Plenty of rich countries out there that already severely punish people for their speech and happy to defend the power of the state over the people. Still, it does puzzle me how much money we give to countries with drastically different values.