New Delhi: As Pakistan's Supreme Court on February 14 granted bail to an individual accused of blasphemy, thousands protested in Peshawar on February 23 against Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, who led the three-judge bench and pronounced the judgment, AFP reported.

According to the report, the judge had to face online backlash and even thinly veiled death threats after he ordered the release of Zubair Saeed Sabri – a man from the Ahmadi religious sect, considered heretical by hardline Muslim scholars – who was detained for the past seven months.

As per AFP, Sabri had been accused of disseminating a forbidden Ahmadi text, which is considered tantamount to blasphemy by radical clerics in the Muslim-majority country.

In the protests, around 3,000 people gathered across the northwestern city of Peshawar after Friday prayers. Further, the protesters blocked roads and chanted "Death to Qadianis" – a slur referring to Ahmadis – as well as "Long live Islam", according to the AFP report.

Meanwhile,  Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) – the Pakistani chapter of the Taliban militant group – called Chief Justice Isa "an enemy of Islam" and "a damned man", as per the report.

Voice of support 

Defending the ruling, the Supreme Court issued a statement. "The organised campaign against judiciary and judges is unfortunate," the statement read as per the AFP report.

Chief Justice Isa's ruling "protects the constitutional right of all religious minorities to freedom of religion or belief," the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said. "Those political leaders and sections of the media that are responsible for this campaign must be restrained," the human rights organisation said on X (previously called Twitter).

Watch | What is the History of Pakistan’s Blasphemy Law?

Law against Ahmadias

While the Ahmadi sect considers itself Muslim, they were declared “non-Muslims” in 1974 under Pakistan's Constitution. Reportedly, hundreds of attacks on them, including murders and desecrations of their religious places and graveyards, have been reported in Pakistan since the 1970s.

As per the AFP report, in his judgment, Chief Justice Isa underlined that according to Pakistan's constitution, "every citizen shall have the right to profess, practice and propagate his religion".

"Freedom of faith is one of the fundamental tenets of Islam. But sadly, in matters of religion, tempers flare up and the Qur'anic mandate is forsaken," he added.