Islamabad, capital of Pakistan, including Faisal Mosque. (Fassifarooq, Creative Commons)
LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – A high court has advised the Pakistan government to establish a commission to investigate alleged collusion between the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and Islamist clerics to entrap innocent people in false blasphemy charges, sources said.
Justice Ejaz Ishaq Khan of the Islamabad High Court on Feb. 2 ordered formation of a four-member commission to investigate a “blasphemy business group” of clerics and lawyers said to have ensnared more than 400 innocent people, including Christians, in a surge of false blasphemy cases in the last two years.
“The commission should include a retired judge of the high court or the Supreme Court, a retired senior officer of the FIA, an enlightened and religious scholar who has known and has done works of public good, and a senior expert of information technology whose presence on the commission will greatly assist the commission members in what is a technologically complicated chain that the commission will have to understand,” the order stated.
The court directed the cabinet secretary to ensure that the summary is placed before the federal cabinet for consideration, and that the additional attorney general should submit the cabinet’s decision in court before the next hearing.
The Islamabad High Court issued the order in response to petitions filed by families of more than 100 people booked by the FIA for allegedly sharing blasphemous content online. The petitioners claimed that the “blasphemy business group” had fraudulently trapped their loved ones into sharing blasphemous content on social media platforms and urged establishment of the enquiry commission and assessment of the legitimacy of the First Information Reports (FIRs) registered by the FIA.
The petitioners based their plea on reports by the Punjab Police Special Branch and the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR). A Special Branch report dated Jan. 24, 2024 revealed that a suspicious gang was trapping young people in false blasphemy cases and extorting money in collusion with some FIA officials.
The report recommended that a probe be launched to “dig out discreet activities of the gang.”
The NCHR acknowledged these tactics in its report, stating, “Young men were targeted using female operatives under pseudonyms, entrapping them in blasphemous activities online, which led to their arrests.”
The NCHR report further highlighted procedural violations, noting 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.”
While discussing the Terms of Reference (TORs) for the proposed commission, the court suggested that the TORs could be framed based on the reports annexed with the petition and any additional evidence produced before the commission.
“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,” the order read.
The court also noted that another suggested TOR could be the commission considering whether there is an organized method of funding the increasing online blasphemy trend, possibly by foreign elements.
The order stated that commission hearings ought to be in public view, except where it considers matters of such high sensitivity – for instance, when viewing blasphemous pictures – that it may exclude the public from the hearings.
“The commission may also co-opt the investigating officers to carry out various inquiries into subsidiary issues as and when they arise before the commission,” it added.
The court also encouraged the complainants of the FIRs and members of religious groups who consider themselves flag-bearers in the fight against online blasphemy to be part of the commission’s proceedings, emphasizing that they are not against any individual but are seeking to reveal the truth.
“If they are going to oppose this exercise, they will weaken because then they will ever be mixed up and treated in the same breath as those abusing the blasphemy laws are,” the order stated. “They must come forward and wholeheartedly support the proceedings of the commission. Anyone opposing the proceedings of the commission unnecessarily gives rise to doubts and suspicions as to their true motivations. They must ensure that they do not end up supporting those suspicions.”
Death Threats
The order comes as Islamist elements have threatened to kill a prominent TV journalist, Munizae Jahangir, for raising the blasphemy issue on her show.
On her TV show Spotlight on Aaj TV, Jahangir on Feb. 3 invited families of three victims of the “blasphemy business group” to discuss their cases and to highlight the modus operandi of the criminals involved in trapping innocent youths.
A day after Jahangir’s show, a group of lawyers associated with the “blasphemy gang” held a press conference and protest outside the Lahore Press Club. The protesters condemned Jahangir’s show on the issue and also rejected the Islamabad High Court’s order for the establishment of an inquiry commission.
Subsequently Jahangir began facing a hate campaign on social media, where she was hit with a barrage of tweets and messages, some of them carrying death threats or “dire consequences.”
The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) in a statement on Thusday (Feb. 6) slammed the targeted harassment and trolling of the Muslim journalist.
“We stand firmly in solidarity with Munizae Jahangir, who continues to face unjust attacks for her unwavering commitment to truth and justice,” said PFUJ President Afzal Butt and Secretary General Arshad Ansari in their joint statement. The PFUJ demanded an immediate end to the harassment and trolling of Jahangir and all other journalists facing similar threats.
“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,” they stated.
Pakistan ranked eighth on Open Doors’ 2025 World Watch List of the most difficult places to be a Christian.
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