Muslim vigilantes colluding with authorities to entrap Christians in blasphemy charges
In Lahore, Pakistan, Muslim vigilante groups are reportedly collaborating with federal authorities to entrap young people into sharing blasphemous content on social media, leading to their imprisonment, according to an investigation by Pakistan’s National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR).
The NCHR report highlights a sharp rise in blasphemy cases this year, particularly targeting Christians and other religious minorities, a trend linked to coordination between Muslim vigilantes and federal investigators. The number of blasphemy cases filed in the first seven months of this year has tripled compared to the entire previous year.
As of July 25, 767 individuals were imprisoned on blasphemy charges across Pakistan, a significant increase from 213 in 2023, 64 in 2022, nine in 2021, and 11 in 2020, as per NCHR data. Most of these cases were registered through the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) Cybercrime Unit in partnership with private entities, with young men being lured into blasphemous activities online through entrapment tactics involving female pseudonyms.
The majority of blasphemy suspects—594—are being held in Punjab Province, followed by 120 in Sindh, 64 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and two in Balochistan, according to the NCHR report.
This investigation follows a study by Punjab Police’s Special Branch, released in January, which uncovered the existence of a “blasphemy business” that exploits Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy laws to entrap individuals for extortion purposes. The study revealed that many cases were brought to trial by private vigilante groups, often led by lawyers and volunteers searching the internet for potential offenders. One such group was responsible for the conviction of 27 individuals sentenced to life imprisonment or the death penalty over the past three years.
The most prominent vigilante group, the Legal Commission on Blasphemy Pakistan, is led by Shiraz Ahmad Farooqi and is currently prosecuting over 300 cases. Farooqi was also the complainant in the blasphemy conviction of Shagufta Kiran, a 40-year-old Christian woman who was sentenced to death by a special judge in Islamabad on September 18.
The NCHR’s report calls for a comprehensive review of the accountability of both government and private entities involved in these cases and emphasizes the harsh conditions faced by blasphemy suspects in jail. Inmates accused of blasphemy are often housed together in overcrowded barracks, which lack proper facilities, to protect them from other prisoners who might harm them. These detainees also face coercion and extortion from the vigilantes who entrapped them, with some being pressured to commit further criminal acts while in prison.
The NCHR urged the involvement of the highest levels of government and judiciary to investigate the FIA’s collaboration with vigilante groups. It also recommended the formation of a Joint Investigation Team, consisting of officials from the Special Branch of the Intelligence Bureau, the Ministry of Law, the Ministry of the Interior, the FIA, and other relevant agencies, to look into blasphemy cases.
Blasphemy allegations in Pakistan, a Muslim-majority country, often provoke public outrage and sometimes lead to mob violence. Hundreds of individuals have been accused and jailed for alleged blasphemy, with some receiving death sentences, though none have been executed so far.
On October 17, the United Nations Human Rights Committee criticized Pakistan for failing to address rising human rights violations, including the surge in blasphemy-related violence. The committee expressed concern over the increasing attacks on religious minorities, including accusations of blasphemy, targeted killings, lynchings, forced conversions, and the destruction of places of worship. The committee noted that Pakistan has become more intolerant of religious diversity.
Pakistan ranks seventh on Open Doors’ 2024 World Watch List of the most challenging places to be a Christian, as it did in the previous year.