The Christian couple Kiran and Shaukat Masih have been free again since 21 October 2023. On 18 October, the competent court in the provincial capital of Lahore (Punjab) approved the application by defence lawyer Zahid Nazeer for their release on bail. The couple were arrested on 8 September 2023 on suspicion of desecrating the Koran in Lahore after a passer-by named Mohammad Taimur reported them. According to him, he found individual pages of the Quran on the pavement outside a grocery shop and then confronted the family in the neighbouring house. Further Koran excerpts were found in a bag on the roof of the building, according to the police report. According to the defence lawyer, the pages found on the roof in a bag behind a tank were from a textbook. The couple have three underage children with disabilities who are between five and twelve years old. The father earns the family’s living through odd jobs. If found guilty, the parents face life imprisonment.