E/CN.4/1995/91/Add.1 page 55 Other Pakistan citizens, who are Muslims, were allegedly affected by the laws on blasphemy. According to the information received: Akhtar Hammed Khan, an eminent writer and sociologist, 81 years of age, who is known for his commitment to the deprived people of Orangi in Karachi, launched a pilot development project on their behalf. Some aspects of the project seeking to offer real estate loans on favourable terms to the population and to improve the condition of women through education and access to employment and to family planning, apparently went down badly with local businessmen and the orthodox Muslim authorities. This eminent sociologist, it is alleged, was first charged with blasphemy, after being reported by a former employee who had been dismissed in 1988, in connection with an interview given to an Indian journalist, the article concerning which was never published. The matter was dropped by the Karachi police for lack of sufficient evidence. On the other hand, extracts from the so-called article have been published in the weekly organ of the conservative Jamaat-i-Islami party. On 14 May 1990, similar accusations based on the above-mentioned article were made against Mr. Khan by a religious leader from Multan and confirmed on the basis of sections 298 A, 295 B and 295 C of the Pakistan Penal Code. Mr. Khan was arrested a few months later and held briefly before being released. The third accusation of blasphemy stemmed from a children’s nursery rhyme entitled ’The Lion and Anaq’, which was published by the Oxford University Press in 1989. According to the person who lodged the complaint against Mr. Khan on 19 March 1992, the nursery rhyme made particular reference to the Holy Prophet and to the fourth caliph, thus insulting the Prophet and Islam. Although the High Court of Sind granted Mr. Khan release on bail, in the meantime his home was searched on several occasions. Libellous articles and tracts were published about him in the press or distributed to the population by the religious leaders. He was then again arrested and held for short periods without any arrest warrant, despite being supported by several publishers, influential Pakistan citizens or human rights groups. Abdullah Malik, a former journalist and well-known writer active in political life, was the victim of a smear campaign carried out recently by the press, denouncing the accounts of his pilgrimages to Mecca during the last 20 years as blasphemous, ridiculing the writer and calling him the ’Salman Rushdie’ of Pakistan. Lastly, it is reported that several Pakistanis of the Christian faith or converts to Christianity were also victims of the blasphemy laws. In the cases mentioned by the Special Rapporteur in his report in document E/CN.4/1992/52, namely those of Naimat Ahmer, Tahir Iqbal and Gul Masih, the following information should be added regarding the latter: he professes the Catholic faith, and comes from Sargodha,