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CWA # 1634, 27 March 2025
NIAS Pakistan Reader
The Misuse of Pakistan’s Blasphemy Laws: Where, Who and Why

  Nuha Aamina

On 26 February, the Centre for Social Justice data indicated at least 225 people were accused of blasphemy between January and mid-August 2024. 329 blasphemy cases were filed and registered between July and September 2023, mostly in central Punjab and Sargodha. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) report titled “Under Siege: Freedom of Religion or Belief in 2023/24,” notes Punjab has the highest number of blasphemy-accused prisoners in jails. Today many segments of society have raised concerns over the misuse of blasphemy laws. 

What are the blasphemy laws?
Pakistan’s blasphemy laws figure via Sections 295 A-C of the Pakistan Penal Code. Its origins are rooted in the blasphemy law adopted during the British Raj. During the 1980s, under Zia, additional provisions were included. The law criminalizes insulting Prophet Muhammad and Islamic personage - carrying the punishment of a death penalty or life sentence.  The law prohibits the desecration of the Quran with a penalty of life imprisonment and also prohibits deliberate forms of expression that insult the religion with a fine or short-term imprisonment. An amendment in 2023 increased the sentence from three to 10 years, and declared life imprisonment for some offenses, making them non-bailable. As of 24 October 2024, 566 individuals have been incarcerated for blasphemy.

Accused and complainants: Who are they?
A report published by the Centre for Research Security Studies (CRSS) indicates that 48 per cent of the accused are Muslims while 52 per cent are non-Muslims Between 1948 and May 2024, 104 were killed, and 71 injured. According to the study conducted between 1947 and 2021, the largest group of complainants are individual citizens, followed by religious groups. Over 1100 individuals have made complaints of blasphemy. The Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) has made more than 220 complaints.

Geography: Where are the cases concentrated?
There is a greater incidence of blasphemy cases in Punjab, due to socio-political reasons since partition. The 1953 and 1974 anti-Ahmaddiya movements were centered in Punjab. The province has the largest Barelvi sub-sect population in Pakistan, which felt isolated during Zia’s dictatorship as his Islamization policies seemed to favor the Deobandi sub-sect. This prompted the Barelvis to use the blasphemy laws to their defense. A prominent incident was when the Governor of Punjab, Salman Taseer, was assassinated in 2011 by his bodyguard. He belonged to the Barelvi sect and is celebrated as a hero by a section.

The misuse: Why and How?
First, the misapplication of blasphemy laws. Insights gained from the report - “On Trial: The Implementation of Pakistan's Blasphemy Laws” by the International Commission of Jurists suggest that most blasphemy related allegations are linked to personal vendetta and political interests. The judiciary, parliament, and administration have not responded sufficiently to uphold the rights of the victims.

Second, extortion, faulty investigations, and law enforcement negligence.  According to a report titled ‘The Blasphemy Business’ by the Special Branch of the Punjab Police, there is a racket that blackmails and extorts money from youth by leveling fabricated blasphemy offenses against them. It operates under the name ‘Legal Commission on Blasphemy Pakistan (LCBP).’ Investigations led by the HRCP discovered that 90 per cent of the complaints were registered to or by the Federal Investigative Agency (FIA).

Reports from the National Commission of Human Rights and independent media sources revealed that the Cyber Crime Wing of the FIA filed and arrested people for “blasphemous” online content without following protocol. Members of religious minority groups and the HRCP also found probable involvement of FIA personnel working with such extremist entities or being negligent of fair practices.

The police are also seen engaging in mob-appeasing behavior. It was witnessed in the Jaranwala incident as Christians were left on their own despite calling the police and security personnel. The HRCP claimed that the delayed response to the attacks was deliberate and premeditated. Furthermore, of the 1,200 Muslim men accused of looting, vandalizing, and desecrating the Christian neighborhood, 300 were released due to faulty investigation.

Third, judicial complicity and activism. There have often been instances where the higher courts have reversed the trial of lower courts on appeal. In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court acquitted Asia Bibi, who spent eight years on death row on blasphemy charges leveled by lower courts. Similar incidents took place in the Shafqat Emmanuel and Shagufta Kausar case.

Lawyers and judges hesitate to take up such cases due to their security concerns. The previous Chief Justice of Pakistan, Qazi Faez Isa’s term was marked by a smear campaign against him by religious groups for granting bail to an Ahmadiyya man, Mubarak Sani, in a blasphemy case. An opposition campaign was led by the Jamat-e-Islami (F) and other parties, while the TLP threatened the judicial authority and incited violence against the Ahmadiyya community.

Fourth, misinterpretation of the religious texts. Sunnis compose the largest sect in Pakistan. A majority of them follow the Hanafi school of thought. The Federal Shariat Court (FSC) often refers to it as its reference point for the interpretation of Islamic laws. Interestingly, the Hanafi jurisprudence has deemed blasphemy a pardonable offense. However, the FSC rules out pardon in the application of blasphemy law. This highlights an inconsistency that remains incongruent with what’s prescribed in the scriptures.

What does this mean?
Pakistan’s blasphemy laws have evolved from imposing lightweight penalties to enforcing stringent measures of a death penalty or life sentence. It is often abused by a section to fulfill self-serving ambitions amidst weakened government institutions.

References
Under siege, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, 26 February 2025

International Commission of Jurists, On Trial: The Implementation of Pakistan's Blasphemy Laws, Ref-World UNHRC’s Global Law and Policy Database, November 2015

“How Did Punjab Become The Epicentre Of Blasphemy-Related Violence?,” Friday Times, 26 February 2024

Mohammad Nafees, “Faith and Fury the Rise of Blasphemy-Driven Violence in Pakistan,” Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), September 2024

 Mohammad Nafees, “Blasphemy Cases in Pakistan: 1947 – 2021,” Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), 26 January 2022

“NCHR Investigation into Blasphemy Cases October 2023 to October 2024,” National Commission for Human Rights, 31 October 2024

Sema Hasan, “Assessing Blasphemy and Related Laws on Religious Freedom in Pakistan,” United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, December 2023
 

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