ISLAMABAD – Hundreds of families across Pakistan are living in perpetual fear due to the rampant misuse of the country’s stringent blasphemy laws. A recent investigative report has exposed organized gangs that fabricate false accusations to extort money, targeting those who refuse to pay up.
According to the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR), over 450 individuals, predominantly men, have been ensnared in these fabricated cases in recent years. Among them were 10 Christians, with at least five dying while in custody under suspicious circumstances.
In a significant development last July, the Islamabad High Court responded to petitions from 101 affected families by ordering the federal government to form a commission to probe the misuse of blasphemy laws. However, an appellate bench later stayed this interim order, leaving the investigation in limbo.
The report also implicates officials from the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) cybercrime wing in concocting false charges, highlighting deep-rooted corruption within law enforcement.
One harrowing case spotlighted is that of 33-year-old rickshaw driver Aamir Shahzad from Lahore. Shahzad had stepped out to collect a parcel from a contact’s phone location when he vanished. Four days later, the FIA informed his family of his arrest for allegedly sharing blasphemous content on Facebook.
Every Tuesday, Shahzad’s mother visits him in jail, where he shares accounts of fellow inmates trapped by similar deceitful tactics. Human rights groups describe him as one of many victims of so-called ‘blasphemy gangs’ that prey on vulnerable youth for personal gain.
This pervasive abuse not only shatters families but also undermines Pakistan’s justice system, raising urgent calls for legislative reform to prevent such travesties.