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July 16, 2025 - Comments Off on Government asked to form commission to probe misuse of blasphemy law

Government asked to form commission to probe misuse of blasphemy law

The Islamabad High Court gave the government 30 days to form a commission to probe misuse of blasphemy laws along with a deadline of four months to report its findings. Justice Ejaz Ishaq Khan also expressed concern over the disappearance of Komal Ismail, a woman accused of trapping suspects of blasphemy. The NCCIA has informed the bench that her CNIC is blocked, SIMs are inactive and that she has been put on the Exit Control List.

July 11, 2025 - Comments Off on Sindh Human Rights Commission says blasphemy laws must not be used to settle scores

Sindh Human Rights Commission says blasphemy laws must not be used to settle scores

The Sindh Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has warned that repeated blasphemy accusations based on fake or unverified social media content could trigger violence and disrupt communal peace just as seen in the past. In a letter to the Umerkot SSP, the SHRC urged the police to prevent misuse of blasphemy laws, take community based preventive steps and ensure due process in sensitive cases. They also called for stricter action against those spreading hate and requested a report on police efforts by July 16.

March 31, 2025 - Comments Off on Man arrested over allegedly blasphemous Facebook post in Toba Tek Singh

Man arrested over allegedly blasphemous Facebook post in Toba Tek Singh

A man was arrested by the Kamalia police in a raid on Sunday, under charges of posting allegedly blasphemous content on his Facebook page. The police moved the suspect to an undisclosed location.
According to the FIR, the case was filed under Section 295-A of the Pakistan Penal Code deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs). The arrest was made following a complaint by Sub-Inspector Muhammad Amer, acting on information about the post. Sub Inspector Amer also claimed that “blasphemous” material was recovered from the suspect’s phone.

March 26, 2025 - Comments Off on Five Given Death Penalty, Life, for alleged blasphemy online

Five Given Death Penalty, Life, for alleged blasphemy online

Five men from Rawalpindi have been given a collection of sentences that include the death penalty, life imprisonment and a combined total of one hundred years behind bars, as a result of a case filed by Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). The complainant behind the case alleged in an application that at least one of the accused had allegedly been sharing blasphemous content, on WhatsApp and social media, in a “clear attempt to hurt the religious sentiments of Muslims”. According to Dawn, the case was filed under the following Sections of the law:

“Sections 109 (punishment of abetment if the act abetted is committed in consequence and where no express provision is made for its punishment), 295A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), 295B (defiling, etc, of [a] copy of Holy Quran) and 295C (use of derogatory remarks, etc, in respect of the Holy Prophet) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and Section 11 (hate speech) of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca).”

March 22, 2025 - Comments Off on Female TikToker Accused, Arrested for alleged Blasphemy

Female TikToker Accused, Arrested for alleged Blasphemy

A female TikTok user has been arrested and charged with allegedly making blasphemous statements on social media. A resident of the district of Muzaffargarh, the user was accused by three other locals of using what they considered to be “offensive” language in a religious capacity in a video, which they presented as evidence to the police. The case registered against her by Muzaffargarh police were filed under Pakistan’s overly broad and controversial blasphemy laws, with the specific sections being: Sections 295-A (“Deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs”), and 298-A (“Uttering words with deliberate intent to wound religious feelings”)  of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

March 19, 2025 - Comments Off on Establish Dept To Tackle “Blasphemy”: Council of Islamic Ideology

Establish Dept To Tackle “Blasphemy”: Council of Islamic Ideology

The chairman of the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) has told the government of Pakistan that it should establish a government department to proactively and specifically tackle what he considered blasphemy on social media platforms and websites. Speaking on the International Day Against Islamophobia, the CII chairman proposed that judges be selected to focus upon and decide alleged cases of blasphemy exclusively. Blasphemy and allegations of blasphemy are very sensitive and controversial in Pakistan, with numerous cases of people being physically attacked or even killed by vigilante mobs and lone wolves. Pakistan’s very broad blasphemy legislation carries the death penalty if one is found to be guilty of allegedly committing blasphemy.

March 15, 2025 - Comments Off on Appeal against death penalty for online “blasphemy” to be heard

Appeal against death penalty for online “blasphemy” to be heard

An appeal against the death sentence, given to a former academic in 2019, is to be heard by the Lahore High Court (LHC) on March 19. In 2013, Junaid Hafeez, a visiting lecturer in English Literature at Bahauddin Zakariya University in Multan, was accused of sharing blasphemous material on Facebook. In 2014 his then lawyer Rashid Rehman was murdered in his office, and Hafeez and was given the death penalty in 2019, and has been imprisoned since.

In the wake of Junaid Hafeez’s sentencing, there have been a number of cases where people have been accused of sharing blasphemous material online, and given the death sentence or life imprisonment, as recently as 2024.

March 12, 2025 - Comments Off on Lahore High Court Orders Banning VPNs, Social Media Registration to Tackle Blasphemy Online

Lahore High Court Orders Banning VPNs, Social Media Registration to Tackle Blasphemy Online

Pakistan’s federal and provincial governments have been issued orders by the Rawalpindi Bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) to immediately take action against blasphemy on social media platforms. To this end, according to Express Tribune, the court, ordered, along with the March 15th observance of “International Islamophobia Day”,

“further ordered ”the immediate termination of all types of VPNs, the registration of all social media websites, and the establishment of special courts nationwide, similar to NAB and Anti-Terrorism Courts (ATCs). It also ordered the appointment of dedicated judges for these courts, the creation of a special wing within the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to combat blasphemy, and the establishment of a Counter Blasphemy Department (CBD) modeled after the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD).

The ruling by the LHC also instructed the Federal Investigation Agency, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, federal and Punjab governments, and the Ministry of the Interior to “identify NGOs that support the publication or uploading of such content under the guise of freedom of expression.”