[11][12] This happened shortly after former Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif supported a crackdown on blasphemous material posted on social media and described blasphemy as an "unpardonable offence" in March 2017.
According to these individuals Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, wanted the country to be a secular state, heavily inspired by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk of Turkey, but in 1956 the government adopted the Pakistani constitution, making it an Islamic republic.
Irreligious movements have picked up momentum only in recent history, especially since the birth of the internet, where Pakistani atheists have been able to publicly voice their concerns on forums and websites anonymously.
[20] Section 295C of the Pakistani penal code mandates death as a penalty for:"Use of derogatory remarks, spoken, written, directly or indirectly, etc.
[that] defiles the name of Muhammad or other Prophet(s)"[21]Pakistan recently passed a cyber crime law, making posting blasphemous content online illegal, and punishable by death.
[22] This law is being applied to its full extent, with the government posting advertisements in newspapers urging citizens to report others that may be promoting atheism anonymously.
One of the most high-profile cases involved former Punjab governor Salman Taseer, who was assassinated by his bodyguard in 2011 as a reaction to his public opposition to blasphemy laws.
For example, activists like Ali A. Rizvi and Aliyah Saleem have spoken out against blasphemy laws from outside of Pakistan, and have not returned since making these comments.
[28][29] Tariq Ali is an example of an activist that fled the country in order to protect himself from persecution from the Pakistani government, leaving Pakistan for London in his twenties and becoming a strong proponent for atheism.
[32] The website was initially reported by some Indian media outlets to be a place for Pakistani youth that were turning away from Islam, but the PAA argues against this.