Muslim mob assaults dancer falsely accused of blasphemy in Pakistan in Hum TV drama, “Tan Man Neel o Neel.” (Christian Day by day Worldwide-Morning Star Information screenshot)
LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Day by day Worldwide–Morning Star Information) – Pakistan’s blasphemy legal guidelines are being systematically misused to focus on spiritual minorities, dispossess the poor and settle private and financial disputes, in line with a brand new Human Rights Watch (HRW) report.
Blasphemy accusations are more and more weaponized to incite mob violence, displace weak communities and seize their property with impunity, states the 29-page report, “A Conspiracy to Seize the Land: Exploiting Pakistan’s Blasphemy Legal guidelines for Blackmail and Revenue,” issued on June 9.
“Failure to prosecute these chargeable for incitement and assaults up to now has emboldened those that use these legal guidelines to extort and blackmail within the title of faith,” stated Patricia Gossman, HRW’s affiliate Asia director.
The Pakistani authorities ought to urgently reform its blasphemy legal guidelines to forestall them from being weaponized, she stated.
HRW researchers interviewed 14 folks accused of blasphemy, in addition to legal professionals, judges, prosecutors, human rights defenders, and journalists throughout Lahore, Gujranwala, Kasur and Sheikhupura in Punjab Province and the federal capital Islamabad between Might 2024 and January.
A 52-year-old Christian beautician in Lahore advised HRW that in July 2019 she determined to give up her job at an area salon and arrange her personal enterprise. She pooled her life’s financial savings and obtained loans from folks she knew to start out her personal salon. Her earlier employer tried to dissuade her by providing a increase. When the lady refused, the earlier employer threatened her, saying that “the implications of this is not going to be good for you.”
In November 2019, a mob led by an area cleric barged into the Christian lady’s salon, beat her and her workers and ransacked and vandalized the premises. They claimed she had desecrated the Quran, and {that a} boy within the neighborhood had discovered pages of the Quran within the trash. The girl advised HRW that the allegation was false.
“I respect all religions and didn’t also have a copy of the Bible on the salon,” she stated. “Why would I’ve a replica of the Quran? I must be utterly mad and suicidal to even take into consideration disrespecting it.”
One other Christian who runs a personal faculty with each Muslim and Christian college students in a low-income neighborhood of Lahore advised HRW that in February 2021 he obtained a name from an offended mother or father alleging “blasphemous” feedback by a trainer.
The 43-year-old Christian stated that he supplied to fulfill the mother or father and in addition requested the trainer for an evidence. The trainer denied making any blasphemous feedback. Just a few days later, a gaggle of individuals affiliated with an area Muslim group threatened to “burn down the college” if an apology was not made.
“The trainer resigned, however that was not sufficient to appease the spiritual group,” the Christian stated. “It quickly grew to become clear to me that it wasn’t about any comment or ‘blasphemy.’”
They advised him to donate 200,000 rupees ($800 USD) to their spiritual charity to “atone” for his “sin,” he stated.
“In fact, they realized that since I used to be a Christian, only a murmur of blasphemy would imply that my faculty and presumably I too could be set on hearth by a mob,” he stated. “Nobody would ask any questions. My faith made me moreover weak. Nonetheless, a blasphemy accusation may additionally end in burning down of a faculty run by a Muslim. The reality of the allegation doesn’t matter. Now, I’ve began a cycle of blackmail, they usually can extort me every time.”
Blasphemy stays a capital offense in Pakistan, punishable by loss of life. Though the state has not executed anybody below the regulation, mere accusations have triggered mob violence leading to dozens of deaths over the previous decade. The accused typically endure lengthy pretrial detentions, unfair trials and fixed menace of extrajudicial killing.
The HRW report underscored that marginalized communities – particularly Christians, Ahmadis and the poor – bear the brunt of the abuse. Many dwell in casual settlements with out authorized land titles, making them notably weak to compelled evictions following blasphemy-related violence. HRW discovered that whole neighborhoods have been emptied after mobs attacked, with neighborhood members fleeing in concern, leaving their properties and companies behind.
In a number of circumstances, blasphemy accusations have been used to focus on enterprise rivals or coerce property transfers. The regulation’s broad and imprecise provisions permit it to be exploited with minimal or no proof, making a local weather of concern amongst weak teams.
HRW additionally criticized Pakistan’s legal justice system for enabling these abuses. It stated that authorities hardly ever maintain perpetrators of mob violence accountable, whereas police typically fail to guard the accused or examine allegations. In some situations, officers who intervene face threats themselves. Political and spiritual actors accused of inciting violence incessantly escape arrest or are acquitted resulting from lack of political will or intimidation.
HRW known as on the Pakistani authorities to repeal the blasphemy legal guidelines, instantly launch these imprisoned below such fees and examine all blasphemy-related violence, notably incidents resulting in displacement and property seizure. The report additionally urged authorities to implement safeguards towards coerced gross sales or transfers of land and companies following accusations.
“The federal government’s indifference to the abuses below the blasphemy regulation and the violence it provokes is discriminatory and violates the rights to elementary freedoms,” Gossman stated. “By failing to behave, Pakistani authorities will not be simply tolerating injustice – they’re enabling it.”
Pakistan ranked eighth on Open Doorways’ 2025 World Watch Checklist of probably the most tough locations to be a Christian.
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