Islamabad High Court has advised Pakistan’s government to establish a commission to investigate alleged collusion between the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and Islamist clerics to entrap innocent people in false charges under the notorious blasphemy laws.
On 2 February Justice Ejaz Ishaq Khan ordered that a four-member commission be formed to investigate a “blasphemy business group” of clerics and lawyers said to have entrapped more than four hundred innocent people in false blasphemy cases in the last two years.
The order states, “The commission is to conclude whether there have been specific instances of abuse of the blasphemy laws by filing false complaints and, to the extent possible, to identify the means and methods by which such abuse was carried out for false implications and to the extent possible to identify the perpetrators.” It encourages complainants and members of religious groups fighting online blasphemy to be part of the commission’s proceedings.
Families of accused file petition for inquiry
The order was issued in response to petitions filed by families of more than one hundred people whom the FIA had accused of sharing blasphemous content online. The petitioners claimed that the “blasphemy business group” had fraudulently trapped their family members into sharing blasphemous content and called for the establishment of an inquiry commission and assessment of the legitimacy of First Information Reports registered by the FIA.
The petitioners based their plea on reports by the Punjab Police Special Branch and the National Commission for Human Rights. A Special Branch report dated 24 January 2024 revealed that a suspicious gang was trapping young people in false blasphemy cases and extorting money in collusion with some FIA officials, while a report by the National Commission for Human Rights stated, “Young men were targeted using female operatives under pseudonyms, entrapping them in blasphemous activities online, which led to their arrests.” It noted that “arrests were often carried out by private individuals rather than law enforcement, and there were disturbing reports of torture during and after apprehension. Detainees’ written statements were frequently obtained under duress, compromising their legitimacy.”
TV journalist threatened
Islamists threatened to kill TV journalist Munizae Jahangir for raising the issue of blasphemy on her show Spotlight on Aaj TV after she invited families of three victims of the “blasphemy business group” to discuss their cases on 3 February.
The following day a group of lawyers associated with the group held a press conference and protest outside the Lahore Press Club during which they condemned Munizae Jahangir’s show and the Islamabad High Court’s order to establish a commission of inquiry. A hate campaign began against the journalist on social media, with threats of “dire consequences” including death.
The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists issued a statement on 6 February saying, “We stand firmly in solidarity with Munizae Jahangir, who continues to face unjust attacks for her unwavering commitment to truth and justice… We urge the government to take concrete steps to ensure the safety and security of journalists and to hold accountable those responsible for these cowardly acts.”
Producers and cast of TV drama risk their lives to portray blasphemy attack
Christian Daily International-Morning Star News reports that church leaders and others have lauded the producers and cast of a TV drama for risking their lives to portray a blasphemy attack in a drama series broadcast on national media.
In the final episode of Hum TV’s series Tan Man Neel o Neel (“Body and Soul Badly Bruised”), broadcast on 15 February, dancers are performing at a wedding when a video appears on a large screen showing one of them, Sonu, dancing at a Sikh mansion. Soon a Muslim named Kami, who arranged for the video to appear, falsely accuses Sonu of dancing in a mosque.
A flashback shows Kami plotting the attack with his cohorts, who ask how they could prove that the Sikh house was a holy site. Kami replies, “By the time they figure out if it’s a religious location, the mob will have done their work.”
The ensuing attack plays out in slow motion set to mournful music, as a mob chases and kills the falsely accused “blasphemers”. Coming in the last ten minutes of the otherwise light drama, the scene left viewers shocked.
Christian rights advocate Lazar Allah Rakha, who has successfully defended several people charged with blasphemy, commented: “In a country where mob lynching seems to have become a norm, ‘Tan Man Neel o Neel’ is an alarming reminder of the dangers of religious extremism and false information. In bringing these painful realities to light, Hum TV hasn’t just delivered a work of art but also initiated an essential conversation that we as a nation can no longer afford to ignore.”
Commending the writer, director and TV channel management for their courage, he said he was stunned by the tragic ending and shocked to see the end credits include a montage of photos of people killed over false blasphemy accusations with images of church buildings and homes of Christians burned in blasphemy-incited riots.
“It seems as if the entire team, including the producer, writer, director and actors have put their lives at stake to give out the message that Pakistanis’ fanaticism needs to be curbed, lest more people fall victim to false accusations of blasphemy,” he told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News.
(Christian Daily International-Morning Star News)
Images: Government of Pakistan; Christian Daily International-Morning Star News screenshot