ISLAMABAD – A damning new report exposes how Pakistan’s blasphemy laws are routinely weaponized to settle personal scores, target religious minorities, and shield extremists from accountability. In a parallel trend, the politicization of Islamophobia in Western democracies serves a similar purpose: stifling criticism and distorting public understanding of faith and radicalism.
The analysis, drawing from documented cases, reveals a pattern where these mechanisms not only polarize societies but also empower violent ideologies. In Pakistan, accusations under blasphemy statutes disproportionately victimize Christians and other minorities. What often begins as workplace rivalries, professional jealousies, or private grudges escalates into criminal charges, leading to prolonged detentions, social ostracism, and threats of mob violence against the accused and their families.
Extremist groups have mastered exploiting both legal frameworks and social narratives to evade scrutiny. These laws become tools for intimidation, allowing perpetrators to advance agendas under the guise of religious piety. Meanwhile, in the West, labeling legitimate critiques of jihadist networks or Islamist militancy as ‘Islamophobic’ blurs the line between faith and fanaticism, letting attackers off the hook.
The report underscores that true religious freedom cannot coexist with imposed Sharia interpretations or the promotion of hardline ideologies that dominate minorities. Such tactics erode pluralism and human rights, turning faith into a mechanism of control rather than coexistence.
Experts warn that without reforms, these strategies will continue fueling division. Calls are growing for international pressure on Pakistan to overhaul its blasphemy provisions and for Western leaders to reclaim the discourse on extremism without fear of backlash. The stakes involve not just minorities but the global fight against radicalism.
