Shagufta Kausar, a Pakistani woman who spent eight years in prison on bogus charges of blasphemy, recently recounted the "miraculous earthquake" that led to her freedom.
Speaking at the Aid to the Church in Need's launch of the 2025 Religious Freedom in the World Report, Kausar said that the Pakistani authorities offered to free her from the blasphemy charges if she would commit an act of blasphemy against her own Christian faith.
“At that time, I had a choice to be set free by simply denying Jesus,” she said through her brother, who interpreted her words, at the October 21 event. “But I said, no, Jesus had died on the cross for my sins. I would not deny Him.”
Kausar and her husband, Shafqat Emanuel, were accused of blasphemy in 2013. They were arrested, beaten, and tortured by the Pakistani police. Kausar was informed that she was being charged with sending a blasphemous text message to the president of the Pakistani Bar Association. She had never met the man and did not have his contact information.
“This was simply persecution because of my faith, and this mob was chanting outside the police station: ‘Death for Shagufta and Shafqat Emanuel,’" she said.
Kausar and her husband, who is paralyzed, were both sentenced to death for the crime of blasphemy. They were sent to solitary confinement in different prisons.
Human Rights Watch explained in a report earlier this year, "Pakistan’s blasphemy laws perpetuate religious discrimination and are used to target the poor and minorities in unlawful evictions and land grabs."
Help from afar
During her time in prison, Kausar suffered serious physical ailments and lost the ability to talk — but she did not lose her faith.
“I asked the Lord to give me one chance at life, because I wanted to see my children again,” Shagufta said. “Then I had a vision. I saw the Cross and I saw the Lord, and He healed me, and I bowed down and praised the Lord for the life that He gave me.”
About seven years into her sentence, a miracle occurred, she said.
“One day, I was reading the Acts of the Apostles, when Paul and Silas are in prison, and an earthquake opens the doors. Just as I was reading that, I felt an actual earthquake. Everything was shaking and the guards were shouting. But after a while, there was another sort of earthquake," said Kausar.
This "earthquake," she said, "was a petition in Holland calling for me to be set free. Sixteen thousand people signed the petition in only one day, and it was delivered to the Embassy of Pakistan. And then, the European Parliament approved a resolution, with over 600 votes, threatening Pakistan with repercussions if we were not released."
Among the signatories of the petition, and those calling for her freedom, were "many secular people," said Kausar.
"This was, for us, a miracle.”
Following her and her husband's release from prison, they were reunited with their children and eventually left Pakistan. Now, they do advocacy work for other Christians who are persecuted for their faith.
Soon, she and Shafqat Emmanuel were released and reunited with their children. They were given protection by the Pakistani government and eventually left the country. Although Shagufta and Shafqat are now free, they have not forgotten their compatriots who continue to suffer persecution in Pakistan.
“There are many who are still suffering,” she said.
