The law has frequently been abused to imprison people on ground of religious enmity but also has proved an easy tool to have people imprisoned when the real motives are business rivalry or land issues. Amnesty International welcomed an announcement made by Chief Executive General Pervez Musharraf in April 2000 that to lessen the possibility of abuse of the law, procedural changes would be introduced. Islamist groups held nationwide strikes and demonstrations demanding the repeal of the change. Since then, complaints of blasphemy are again being registered directly by police without any prior scrutiny. Local human rights groups, minority rights organizations and international human rights organizations including Amnesty International have called for the abolition of the blasphemy laws, particularly section 295C and for introduction of such procedural safeguards as were promised and withdrawn, as long as the law remains on the statute book.
Freedom of religion is a basic human right.