A Digital Weaponization of Faith
Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, once framed as safeguards for religious sanctity, are increasingly exploited as tools of fear, control, and profit. Human rights groups now describe a growing “blasphemy business,” in which fabricated screenshots, doctored images, fake social media accounts, and false witness statements are used to trap vulnerable individuals in cases that can carry the death penalty.
In December 2025, the Rawalpindi Bench of the Lahore High Court acquitted six men previously sentenced to life imprisonment or death in a digital blasphemy case. The court found no credible link between the accused and the alleged material and highlighted the rise of organized networks manipulating digital evidence to frame individuals. The ruling was rare and underscored how easily the system can be exploited.
Minorities Living Under Permanent Suspicion
For Pakistan’s religious minorities — Christians, Ahmadis, Hindus, Sikhs, and Shia Muslims — blasphemy allegations are not abstract legal risks. They are a constant threat. Already facing social discrimination and economic marginalization, these communities can be devastated by a single accusation. Mobs gather within hours, families flee, jobs are lost, and reputations are permanently damaged.
Between 1994 and 2025, at least 104 people were killed extrajudicially following blasphemy allegations. In this climate, the law does not merely punish — it terrifies.
Entrapment in the Digital Age
The methods used to trap victims are increasingly sophisticated. In Rawalpindi, a young job-seeker was contacted on WhatsApp by someone posing as a female recruiter. She sent him a sexually explicit image overlaid with Islamic scripture and pressured him to forward it. Days later, he was ambushed, beaten, and handed over to the authorities. That single, manipulated image became the basis for a blasphemy charge.
Section 295-C of the Penal Code mandates the death penalty for insulting the Prophet Muhammad, while the Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act allows prosecution without proving intent. In such a system, even an accidental forward or a digitally fabricated message can lead to life-altering consequences. As AI makes content manipulation more convincing, the risks for ordinary citizens are escalating.
Institutional Weakness and Vigilante Pressure
Rights groups have repeatedly flagged the role of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), particularly its Cyber Crime Wing, for registering cases without proper forensic verification and acting on anonymous tips.
Meanwhile, private vigilante groups, including those linked to Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan, actively pursue alleged blasphemy cases online. The Legal Commission on Blasphemy in Pakistan openly campaigns to take “decisive action” against alleged offenders.
This combination — public pressure, organized activism, and weak safeguards — creates fertile ground for extortion. Victims are often forced to pay intermediaries or flee their homes to survive.
The Human Cost: Shagufta Kiran
Shagufta Kiran, a Christian mother of four from Islamabad, was arrested in 2021 for allegedly forwarding a WhatsApp message containing offensive material overlaid with religious text. She consistently denied wrongdoing. During her trial, she and her family faced threats, and her children were briefly detained. In 2024, she was sentenced to death. Her case underscores how minorities are ensnared in a system where the accusation itself can be more damaging than the trial.
Recognition Without Reform
Some officials have acknowledged the rise of blasphemy networks. In 2025, the Islamabad High Court proposed an inquiry commission, but it was quickly abandoned. Political leaders remain reluctant to challenge groups that mobilize public outrage through religion.
Pakistan is a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), yet blasphemy laws that impose the death penalty without requiring intent violate the country’s human rights obligations. Recognition without structural reform leaves the vulnerable exposed.
A System That Punishes the Vulnerable
The problem is not only misuse — it is the law itself. Sections 295-A, 295-B, and 295-C allow allegations to carry immense weight before evidence is properly tested. Accusations are weaponized against the poor, minorities, and socially marginalized.
For the wealthy and well-connected, legal defense may be possible. For others, survival depends on silence, flight, or payment. As long as the death penalty remains attached to blasphemy laws, these provisions will continue to attract vigilantes, opportunists, and organized extortion networks.
The state has failed to protect the most vulnerable. The judiciary and law enforcement often act as enablers rather than safeguards. Until Pakistan dismantles the legal and institutional mechanisms that allow blasphemy to function as a tool of intimidation, fear will remain the law of the land.