Professor of Urdu Anwaar Ahmed was sentenced to ten years in prison and fined for delivering a lecture in which he criticized certain depictions of Paradise.
In January 2021, professor of Urdu at the Islamabad College for Boys Anwaar Ahmed was sentenced to 10 years in prison and a fine of 100,000 Pakistani rupees. He had allegedly made blasphemous remarks against Islam in a lecture in which he criticized, among other things, the depiction of Heaven as a place with rivers of milk and honey.
Apparently, a student had recorded the remarks, after which they were widely shared online, drawing attention to the case and eventually leading to Anwaar’s trial and conviction.

Pakistan is one of the most repressive countries in the world with regard to freedom of expression, including and especially religious freedom. Blasphemy (i.e. insults) against religion in general can result in imprisonment, while blasphemy against Islam carries the much harsher punishment of death. Both in terms of the aggressiveness with which the Islamic-conservative government prosecutes such cases, as well as the harshness of punishment, Pakistan remains one of the worst places on the planet to speak out against religion or religious fundamentalism.