Pakistan: Rise In Online Blasphemy Cases
‘Vested agenda’
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) reported that multiple vigilante groups were working in a “dedicated manner” to “witch-hunt” people for online expression or to fabricate blasphemy evidence using social media with “vested agendas”.
“All such groups are formalised by self-declared defenders of majoritarian Islam,” the group said in a report published in 2023.
A 2024 report by police in Punjab province, the country’s most populous province, that was leaked to the media said that “a suspicious gang was trapping youth in blasphemy cases”.
“The Blasphemy Business” report was sent to the FIA with recommendations to launch a thorough inquiry to determine the source of the vigilante groups’ funding.
Two FIA officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that they had received the report but denied that their office was acting on the tips of vigilante groups.
The FIA did not respond to requests for official comment.
An official involved in prosecuting the cases told AFP outside the court: “Not a single person arrested was trapped by any manner. They committed the crime.”
“The law is very clear about it, and we have to enforce it as long as the law is there.”
Arafat Mazhar, the director of Alliance Against Blasphemy Politics, a group advocating against the misuse of blasphemy laws, told AFP that the alarming rise in cases was not because people “are suddenly more blasphemous”.
He said the rise in the use of messaging apps and social media and the ease of sharing and forwarding content was a significant factor.
Shunned
The accused struggle to find defence lawyers willing to represent them and the slightest accusation can turn an entire family into pariahs.
Nafeesa Ahmed, whose brother is accused of sharing blasphemous images on WhatsApp and whose names have also been changed, said her family was shunned by close relatives.
“There is a massive cost that families of accused are bearing. First of all, our security or lives are at risk,” she told AFP.
She said some of the families have sold thousands of dollars worth of houses and gold, given to brides on their wedding, to fight the cases.
Dozens of families which have formed a support group have protested in the capital calling for an independent commission to investigate the vigilante groups and their role in prosecuting Pakistanis for blasphemy.
“In this society, if someone commits a murder, he can survive because there are thousands of ways to come out of that but if someone is accused of blasphemy he cannot,” said Nafeesa.
“When it comes to blasphemy, the public has its own court and even family members will abandon you.”
